Find Wonder in All Things - By Karen M. Cox Page 0,42

as it is. It will need some updated equipment, but the location is ideal, and Stuart is happy about the move. We love a lot of things about Cincinnati, but we’ve been talking about striking out on our own, and this seems like a good time. Stuart has always loved that area around the lake. It’s a good place for a dental practice, given the recent growth in population, and it’s a quiet, family-friendly atmosphere.

And that leads me to the other good news: I’m expecting a baby! Finally! After trying for so long, we actually did it! We’re a little nervous about telling people until the first trimester is over, so keep it under your hat for now. I haven’t even told Mom and Dad yet. I’m about six weeks along, and so far, so good. I would have loved to call and tell you the news so I could hear you squeal with delight, but you don’t have a phone! Grrr . . .

Anyway, we are leaving Cincinnati on Memorial Day weekend and plan to take an extended vacation down on the lake. We’ve rented a huge vacation house for the summer so we can look for a permanent place to live and set up the practice to open the first of September. And we’ll have lots and lots of time to see you if you have time for us. If I remember right, most of your big craft fairs are in the spring and fall, right? We’re planning a nice leisurely summer, the kind we used to have when we were kids, and we’re inviting Stuart’s sisters to stay with us, sort of a ‘last hurrah’ before settling down to be boring parents who talk incessantly about their offspring.

So, how do you think you’ll like being an auntie? I’m sure you’ll be incredible at it. Well, I gotta run. Hope to see you real soon.

Love,

Ginny (& Stu)

Laurel couldn’t help the smile spreading across her face. Stuart and Virginia were going to be parents! They were moving to the lake. What a great summer she had to look forward to now instead of the hot, muggy and endless days of the last four years. She had kept busy remodeling the cabin, working and traveling around to sell her pottery, but hopefully, Virginia’s arrival would provide a welcome respite from the other task that had inadvertently fallen in her lap — de facto maternal figure of her family.

Mrs. Elliot’s emotional problems had worsened over the years. Now that she was older and had seen a little more Oprah, Laurel knew that her mother was struggling with a full-blown case of agoraphobia. She rarely left the house or yard, spending most of the day in her room with the TV on. Her physical health was deteriorating too, and she’d gotten quite heavy from lack of exercise. Her only activity was sewing beautiful clothes for Laurel to sell at the craft shows and fairs where she sold her pottery. The family had been unsuccessful at getting her to try therapy or medication, she refused to see any doctor, and Mr. Elliot was afraid to push her too far for fear of what she might do to herself.

It was an impossible situation. Laurel knew this but felt powerless to help. Maybe now that Virginia would be around, things would change. Laurel was pleased but very surprised that her sister was coming back to their hometown. Once Virginia left for college, she had essentially never looked back. Since she and Stuart married, she came home only once or twice a year, citing a busy schedule with dental school and work.

The Elliot boys had moved out a couple of years ago. Neither of them had gone to college, electing to get an apartment and stay around their old stomping ground. Dylan was an electrician, and Crosby sold real estate. Spring would graduate high school next year. She was an incredible student, putting even Ginny to shame with her college entrance scores. Thankfully, she would probably get a full ride to college because the family business was struggling. Mr. Elliot was a nice man, but he was no businessman. A new, modern facility was going in across the lake, so the old Elliot marina desperately needed, if not a full upgrade, at least a face-lift. He said a remodel would be giving in to commercialism at its worst, but Laurel suspected the real reason was that the renovations would cost money he was unwilling to part