Our Vacation is Over Blues

The trouble with having a really good vacation is the return home feels even more difficult and unsettling. The days away were such a high with friendship, activity, beautiful sights and finger-licking foods. Now we are home and I am staring a suitcase that will not unpack itself; mail to be sorted through; messages to return; a few ailing plants needing TLC; and a bare refrigerator (yes, the husband believed he was doing us a favor by "cleaning it out" but didn't bother to fill it up.)

I'm not even in a place mentally to begin to unpack the memories of the past week. Is it enough to say, we had a blast? Cowgirl and her buddy attended a 2 day Chinese Heritage camp where they made cutout art (Chinese snowflakes?) and collages; learned some martial arts moves from a pretty intimidating looking Master (Shi Fu?); and danced a hat dance with the cutest straw hats which they twirled on their fingers. What else they did for 12 hours is a mystery. All I know is they did NOT do any drumming or sword fighting, a fact Cowgirl repeatedly told me whenever I asked what she did do all day.

The mommies did the best we could to amuse ourselves while the girls were at camp: had brunch at a beautiful tea house; strolled the pedestrian mall and people watched; performed a little shopping therapy; took a dayhike into the mountains; and soothed ourselves with caffeine and fatty/sugary/yummy treats.

The days after camp were equally action packed and included a stroll on the bikepath to a nearby park and then a short hike up the hillside to a secluded creek where we all splashed and played for hours. It is those kinds of activities I wish were more readily available where we live. We spend so much time surrounded by visual stimulation, running to classes and activities all in an effort to enrich our daughter's life and we often lose sight of the importance of simple pleasures. More than anything, I will cherish and am grateful for the reminder to seek the magic found in those simple moments in nature when the imagination is given full rein to explore and play. It is those times when we can share and really relish the joy of being a child discovering their world and their voice.

For our little tribe, that moment was very wet and muddy! And some lucky river fairies received a bounty of pebbles left by two munchkins as a token of our appreciation. I need to remember to put out a few more stones as my way of saying thanks for a magical trip.

What offerings do you want to make to your fairies?