A Time of Rest

Ten days ago, I left my home in Kentucky and headed south to Tallahassee, Florida. I got into town Thursday afternoon, visited friends, and went to another friend’s house for the evening. Friday morning I did some business at the courthouse, had lunch with friends, picked Kaylee up from school, had dinner with friends, and went back to a friend’s house for the evening. Saturday morning, we headed south toward the Florida Panhandle’s coast, picking up a friend of Kaylee’s on the way, and took up residence in a little beach house in Mexico Beach.

This beach house was beautiful. The decor was very “Golden Girls” beachy – peaches and corals and mint greens. Beautiful photos and portraits of Florida’s coastal life graced the walls. Even the lamps were made from shells.

Our closest town was Tyndall Air Force Base, so I left the kids and went to the commissary, did the shopping for the week, which included Easter dinner. Thankfully, I do menu planning, so the shopping was done in quick order. I got back to the house, unpacked food and clothes and toys, and had time for a trip down to the beach before making dinner.

The next morning was Easter. We went to Easter service at First Church of God in Panama City, and the pastor who preached (the church is currently seeking a full time pastor) was my husband’s distant cousin! He knows the family well, and come to find out his granddaughter is a good friend of Kaylee’s here in Kentucky. Small world. We got back to the beach house in the afternoon, enjoyed a lamb dinner that I made in the crockpot, and relaxed together as a family while we observed the Sabbath.

Monday morning officially started the week. I had high hopes for the week.

I planned to run every morning, watch the sun rise as I ran along the water. But I forgot my running shoes.
I planned to write every morning. I am on chapter 15 of my current novel. That means, basically, that I have about 5 or so chapters left to write. Just 5. I did not even open the file to write.
I planned to write and queue a week’s worth of posts so that I could stay on top of bloggy stuff. I wrote my Ultimate Blog Party Post. That’s it.

Instead of all of the things I planned to do — I did nothing. Well, that’s not entirely true.

I cooked every day – breakfast and dinner. For lunch we made do with sandwiches or whatever the girls made for themselves (which I think consisted of tortilla chips and bean dip! LOL – to be 13 again).
I took the kids to the beach every day, morning and evening.

I nursed the boys who ended up with ear infections, sinus infections, bronchitis, and croup. I spent the better part of a morning looking for a pediatrician who would see them off of the street so that I wouldn’t have to take them to the emergency room, and was so thankful to find one. I ended up having to purchase a nebulizer for Jeb, because the one we had at home was — at home. But I found a used nebulizer for little cost. God is good.
I finished reading the Book of Judges (quite a violent, interesting book – the Kill Bill of the Bible, as my husband joked with me)
I took one long walk alone, one long drive alone, and went to the grocery store twice alone. Being alone with two toddlers 24-hours-a-day makes things like solitary grocery store trips special treats.
I had good friends come to dinner Monday night.
I took the kids to see How to Train Your Dragon (which was phenomenal)
We went shopping at Panama City Beach’s Pier Park, which was awesome. I definitely want to go there again. We even found a little local boutique that had Ale-8 One soda, which is bottled in our home town and which I’ve only ever seen in Kentucky. We all enjoyed an Ale-8 while we shopped.

We went back to Tallahassee Saturday and had dinner with some friends. Sunday morning we went to the church we attended for many years there, and saw friends I hadn’t seen in a long time. It was wonderful. We left that church after Gregg and I were married (we changed denominations to one that accommodated both of us) and everyone was the same — same pastor, same music leader, same associate pastor. It was very nostalgic and wonderful.

Sunday evening, I said goodbye to Kaylee, taking comfort in the fact that I’ll see her again in just a few weeks, then took the boys swimming. As the sun went down, the air and the pool suddenly felt too cold, so we hopped into the hot tub, relaxed a while, then went back inside and had peanut butter and banana sandwiches for dinner. While the boys played with cars, I loaded the truck to come home.

Monday, I drove the 680 miles home with the anticipation of getting back to work. While we were gone (it snowed the week we left) spring sprung! My grass is ankle-high and our apple tree bloomed, and the berry bushes I planted the week we left (yes, right before it snowed again – *sigh*) all budded. I’m excited to replant my seedlings (somehow, all of my seedling trays were tipped over and spilled out – the baby plants dead), plant my potatoes, finish the “salad bed” I’m making so that I can get my lettuce, carrots, and onions in the ground, and get the rest of the garden ready for planting in a few weeks.

So, I actually took a vacation this vacation. You would think that the days would have dragged on without me filling my days with writing, blog work, and house work, but they didn’t. They were wonderful, relaxing, calming, and refreshing days.

Now I’m ready to get back to work.