vacation

Building in a pause

Scott has a speaking engagement in New York tonight, so I tagged along to enjoy the fringe benies of his travel.  As always, it was a bit nutty getting everything squared away on the home front, make it to the airport in rush hour traffic in time to check the bags and stand in an enormous (& notoriously slow) security line to get to the gate.  By the time we got our halfway naked selves through security and gathered all our scattered belongings, we noticed the two big signs above the benches just ahead:

“Repack and Redress Here”

We had a good laugh about the fact that we’ve become so accustomed to the strip down shenanigans of the airport security checkpoint that we welcome a sign to tell us where to go to gather personal items and put clothes back on.  It was a much-needed comedic break from the stress of the previous couple of hours.

We …

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Priceless Moments

 

I’m a hustler.  I get up before the crack of dawn.  I can run with the best of them.  Give me a goal and I’ll blow it out of the water.

Every time.

But give me my son, asking me to help him with a creative school project.  Give me a Friday night movie with my fam on the couch. Give me ball games, a Saturday in the muddy creek with the boys, dinner with friends, snow skiing, summer in the mountains, time at the lake, a trip to the beach… and you’ll think this girl is a sloth.  I can laugh for days and sleep until noon.  I can’t get anything done.

It’s like a switch flips.

You can have Hustler Crystal or Vacation Crystal.  You have to choose one.  It’s almost impossible for those two girls to co-exist. (I’ve spent many hours of therapy around learning to …

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This is amazing

As summer draws to a close and kids head back to school, I’m feeling bittersweet emotions.  I’ve spent more time with the boys this summer than probably any summer before and yet somehow, it still doesn’t feel like enough.

I’m sad to see them go.

On the other hand, I’ve spent more time with them this summer than any other summer, AND we’re remodeling our house, which means there are many, MANY things to do and catch up on starting next week. So I’m excited to refocus my time back toward the things that have been on the back burner.  I’m looking forward to making some space to create again.

I’m looking forward to space to breathe. . . alone.

But even as those words hit the page, it sends a chill up my spine and a dagger to my heart.  I don’t want them to go.  This summer has been amazing.  Those boys are my life.

And …

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What do you do with peace?

The last few weeks have been a bit unusual for me.  I’ve never traveled for three straight weeks before, but our annual family trip with my in-loves just so happened to be exactly adjacent to a family reunion trip with my extended family.  In all my planning, it seemed like it would be simple as pie.

It didn’t go exactly as planned.

Flights were cancelled, the airline wasn’t helpful, kids were tired, and momma was tired.  By the time we arrived in Colorado, I needed a vacation from my vacation.  Then there was the late bag, the wait for the bus to the rental car facility, the 45 minute line and the news that the car I booked wouldn’t hold all our bags, much less get us up the mountain on our four-hour drive.  Perfect.

Then a strange thing happened.

After we finally got some food and got on the road, I started to feel energized.  (alright, some …

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Eating dinner off the ground

 

Traveling this my family this week, we visited some natural falls and hot springs.  It reminded me of an experience we had years ago.

When I was about 7 years old, my family shared a big green mobile home with some friends.   We took lots of fun road trips in that big monster.  I remember a fun trip to the Grand Canyon among others.  But there is one memory that stands out the most.

The picnic table tip.

If you’ve ever eaten at a picnic table connected to the benches, that wasn’t secured to the ground, you’re already laughing. If not, let this be your warning.

Make sure your crew sits evenly on both sides.

The story goes that we were at this natural falls campground.  We’d been playing in the water all day and returned to the camper to make hamburgers.  (I say “we”, but now that I’m a mother, I know it was …

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Make a big splash

Early this morning, I sat down at the beach to write.

It’s obviously a beautiful place to write. Watching the world wake up here is a little different from at home. There aren’t any birds chirping. It’s pretty quiet except for the sound of the waves lapping on the beach.

A few sleepy-eyed people wander out with their coffee to arrange (claim) their beach chairs for the day.  A grandma with her big straw hat and bright green inner tube makes her way, step by step to the water to float. All is quiet and peaceful.

Until the children start waking up.

Kids don’t wander drearily out to the water. No way. As soon as their toes hit the sand, they run, with full abandon of all things cool. They make a beeline for the water. Arms and legs flailing, they make a big splash, tummy first, into the waves.

The little boy in this …

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