I had the best day with you today

One of the best things about your children growing up and leaving home is that every moment you get to spend with them thereafter feels like a gift.

Another best thing is seeing them stretch themselves in ways you could not even have imagined.

I enjoyed both when my daughter Molly came home this past weekend. We sipped a little wine with friends on Friday, attended church and went out for dinner Saturday and then I watched her bake the most amazing, quirky, delicious grapefruit coconut pie.

A familiar maternal fascination/admiration bubbled up as I sat and chatted while she puzzled out her ingredients and process. She candied grapefruit peel and fashioned a crust out of coconut oil, coconut flakes, coconut sugar and coconut flour and noted with delight that, in her flavor quest, she had unintentionally produced a vegan, gluten free crust.

“I mean, I eat everything,” she said. “But this will be a great option to have on hand for some of my friends.”

She invented a grapefruit curd for the filling and topped it with a meringue whipped up with the coconut sugar. Then, because one of our favorite comedians happened to be hosting Saturday Night Live, we settled in and watched John Mulaney do his hilarious thing.

Sunday morning we went ice skating across the street from our house and then straight to a hot yoga class, a celebration of opposites – from fresh, frozen air and clenched muscles to blessed heat and a slow, Sunday stretch.

Later, we went to the Appleton Beer Factory to see Jamie Kent and Wild Adriatic perform and that little taste of Mile of Music capped off a perfect weekend.

I don’t love that my kids all grew up and moved far away from home. But, I do love them and the time we get to spend together.

And, even though I can’t stand on my front porch and watched them walk home from school anymore, I can appreciate the time we do get to hang, and the really cool people they’ve become.The 7 degree temperature did not seem so bad but we forgot to factor in the wind chill. Yikes! Ice skating in March should be far less grueling (Note our pink faces). We hustled right over to Empower Yoga to warm and stretch our cold achy bones. It was a perfect combination.Later, we hit the Appleton Beer Factory to see Jamie Kent and Wild Adriatic. I love Jamie Kent and thank the Mile of Music team for introducing him to us.Those crazy Wild Adriatic boys feel like family. And, my oh my, that pie was good! The meringue is brown due to the coconut sugar, and Molly used a blow torch to toast the top. Yum Yum