A Week of Retreat

I have mixed feelings about my vacation being over. I treasure time with Patty, and the change of scenery was very nice. But nothing really went as planned, as far as seeing or doing things we had planned. We traveled on Saturday, rested on Sunday, shopped on Monday, and then on Tuesday Mom pulled her back out. Her ability to walk being severely limited, and not wanting to leave her alone much, we mostly stayed at the cabin for the rest of the week.

So I spent lots of time laying around in the sun or on the water (kayaking around the pond or swimming out to the floating dock), reading, goofing around with Josh, taking pictures, and watching movies on TCM. We don't have cable at my house so I enjoy when I get some time to watch the oldies! I discovered "The Greatest Show On Earth" with Charlton Heston. It's directed by Cecil B. DeMille (same as "The Ten Commandments") so it's a great spectacle movie.

I also went hiking (once) with Patty and Josh. I appreciate the beauty of the outdoors, but I'm not a big fan of hiking. Go figure. We went to the beach on New Castle Island, which is on the coast of New Hampshire. Went shopping in Freeport, Maine for the second time. It has lots of brand name outlets, and I clothes shopped with Josh. That was a nice time of bonding for us, which we badly needed. Tensions at home have driven us apart in the past months, and I think that a week with no alternative but to hang out with each other reminded us both how much we appreciate each other.

The weather was chilly and the pond was beautiful in all its moods. I was up early one morning to keep Josh company while he fished, and we watched a gorgeous thunderstorm roll in. The thunder echoed around us as the sound bounced off the water. The rain got so thick we couldn't see across the water to the forest beyond. We stood on the deck sheltered by tree branches as long as we could, enjoying the wind and rain and lightning. Other days were sunny, and the fluffy clouds and blue sky reflected on the pond's surface. Some afternoons the breeze was strong and made little waves that would lightly toss the kayak to and fro. Other times the water was glassy and still. My paddles would slice gracefully through and leave ripples in their wake. The evenings that we had no clouds, stars reflected on the water and the trees that closet the shoreline were dark and haunting.

I had LOTS of time to think. The first couple days, especially at night, it was a lonely feeling to be separated from all the things I usually use to distract me- my friends, the Internet, work, texting :p (due to lack of service). After I got used to it, I journaled and allowed myself to think back on this year. I've been hurt and loved and victorious and humbled and changed, and in my day to day life I think I fight to ignore what I should be acknowledging.

The shopping- I got a long sleeve tee at The Gap in Freeport that is super cute and soft. Also bought a shirt in Ralph Lauren (because I'm secretly a label snob at heart :p). Both are tops are striped. Outlet shopping is so fun and guilt-free! I tried on the most adorable winter trench coat in Banana Republic, but couldn't justify buying it. At an art gallery in Portsmouth I bought a small red vase, and an antique shop in Northwood I bought another vase, a little Wedgewood piece. In the same shop they had oodles of post cards from all 50 states that I wanted to spend all day looking at. But I skipped to the Maryland ones and picked out two, a view of the harbor skyline and the other a painting of Johns Hopkins. Both are from the early 1900's.

Mom recovered somewhat after a trip to a chiropractor and an urgent care doctor. After muscle relaxers, Advil, and lots of rest she was walking by the time we needed to travel. I felt badly she missed out on her vacation, but enjoyed the time we got to talk, eat dinner, and watch movies together. Another less then desirable aspect of the trip came when we drove home. Josh mysteriously got very sick to his stomach and progressively worse as we got closer to Baltimore, and we spent some time on the side of the road in Pennsylvania taking care of that. :(

We're finally here, for better or worse. I'm back at work, Drivers Ed classes start tonight, and school starts in two weeks!