“Away from it All…?”

It’s always interesting to me what happens when I leave home for a bit.  Some of you know that my husband and I just returned from such an adventure.  Well, let me put it this way.  “Mixed Bag” is putting it mildly!

Have you ever noticed that both preparing to go and returning home are like the stale pieces of bread surrounding sumptuous sandwich fillings inside?  I don’t know about others, but I procrastinate when getting ready to leave and then stress out at the last minute.  Arriving home at the end of an idyllic week is worse!  I feel disoriented and discombobulated.  I know I have a million things to do, but I have no idea where to begin!  Telling myself, “One thing at a time” seems to do me no good on these occasions.  And the traveling… well, for some reason, the process of traveling appears to put us in the ripest state for arguing!  About the silliest things!

I find all this tremendously ironic, in that time spent away, in new surroundings and a change of scenery, is time intended for all good things – relaxation, reflection, the Great Outdoors, family, love, and fun.  And indeed, while on vacation, these are the moods we cherish and enjoy.

I guess I just wish that more of those feelings would last, that we wouldn’t even need to go away, that we could just – at will – summon up the best of what’s within us and each other.  I suppose my goal would be to be able to more often take a mini-vacation from all the “busy-ness” in our lives, right in our own backyard.

And I guess that the more I think about it, the more I know it is possible.  One just has to make being, listening, laughing, loving, and soaking in the moment a priority.  If all that is already on the list, it needs to move to the top of the list.  This is what we've already begun to do, and we're already reaping the benefits.

Anyone care to join us in this every-day's-an-adventure venture?