Two is not quite as magic, but is is more quiet

Yesterday afternoon Vicki and I ditched half of church and drove with our friends Shelbie and Erica up to Stephenson, Washington. What's in Stephenson that's worth skipping church for, you ask?

Camp Arrowhead.

Vicki is at Girl Scout camp for the week. A whole week. Away from home, without Mom, Dad, or her sisters. Just her buddy Shelbie and a bunch of trees, cabins, and potential new friends.

I'm sure she's fine. She's been excited for weeks, counting the days, wanting to pack before all her clothes were clean. She even offered to sleep sans pillow on Saturday night, so that all her stuff could be together and ready to go. She did admit to being a little bit nervous, but when I dropped her off, it was exactly the same as when she was 17 months old and going to Nursery at church for the first time. A hug, a kiss, and then The Look. The one that says, "Okay, Mom. Don't make a scene. Go away now so I can start having fun."

So yeah, I'm pretty sure she'll be fine.

The rest of us, not so much. Ellie was devastated to learn that Vicki wasn't coming back with me, and that she was, in fact, going to be at camp until Saturday. That's a long time to a 3-year-old. Chris missed reading A Wrinkle in Time to her at bedtime. This morning I missed her telling me which of the comics were the funniest, the ones I had to read. And Lexi, poor Lexi, cried herself to sleep last night because she missed her big sister. Never mind that they fight almost constantly these days. Her heart was broken because there was nobody to giggle with when they're supposed to be going to sleep.

We hugged and talked for a while, and she ended up cuddling with Vicki's stuffed elephant to help her feel better. Today Lexi and Ellie have talked about Vicki a lot. They were worried that she'd fall behind in swimming, and that she'd be mad that we went to Target without her. But now they're playing together, and no one is fighting. I know Vicki's not the instigator of the arguments, at least not always, but she and Lexi have had their moments lately and this may be the break they need from each other. Maybe they'll be even better friends when Vicki gets back. For a week, at least :) (I may be optimistic, but I'm not a fool.)

Yeah, it's kind of quiet around here today. Two is not bad.

But I miss my three.