Do not be cast down, gentle readers, if your children are growing like weeds and preparing to leave the familial nest, for I have found that traveling to see them is a very enjoyable thing. And, if you are fortunate, they shall visit you as well.
This past summer was the busiest I can remember since my daughters moved away.
My elder daughter and her family (my grandchildren!) came to see us in June. They went to Vacation Bible School, took swimming lessons from my sister Layne, and helped me out with a photo shoot at my sister Gayle’s pool.
During that time, I flew to Detroit for a few days with my younger daughter.
Their visit ended with a cookout and pool party at Gayle’s.
Larry and I went with our choir to sing the National Anthem at a Charlotte Knights minor league baseball game. It rained for three hours while we waited to sing, but we had a grand time.
A few weeks after that, we hit the road for a trip to Detroit to visit our daughter and son-in-law. While we were there, we visited my husband’s family (for the first time in fifteen years), went to Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum, strolled around Plymouth, and attended a Detroit Lions pre-season game (my first NFL game!).
Larry and I first went to museum and village on our honeymoon, forty-two years ago, so my daughter took a commemorative picture for us. 
Our daughter returned home with us, and we had a fabulous photo shoot for my book covers. She was my cover girl for Understanding Elizabeth, and I love that cover!
Model: Melanie Thompson. Photographer: Anna Beckham. Costumes by Jennifer McCoy. Venue: Rosewood on Country Club Road in Lancaster, South Carolina.
Robin Helm 