I think it's just what we needed.
Sunday was really the only pretty and semi-warm day of the trip. Luckily, we went into the state park that day because the kids were dying to go on a hike. After a pretty short period of time, my left ankle (the one only recently removed from a cast) started hollering at me so I sat on the trail and waited for my family. It was a moderately significant moment for me because my body was not doing what I thought it should and my normal reaction to those moments is pretty negative. Granted, I've never been the most athletic person around, but I can keep up on most hikes. I tried to take a different approach (a more positive one), however, and made an effort to enjoy the view and consider the fact that I will be able to build my body up to where I want it to be.
My daughter came back after a bit - her lungs were screaming at her (she seems to be pretty sensitive to altitude - she gets that from me). So we hung around and waited for the guys. They were gone for quite a while and I was ABOUT to get worried but then I saw them coming back down the trail. My son felt like he'd conquered a mountain.
Here's a little list of some of my favorite vacation moments:
- Monday evening's sunset: there were storm clouds above the mountains, so the piece of sun peeking through was just brilliant.
- Playing solitaire and taking naps: I thought I'd take time to write on my novel or accomplish some other chores during this trip but I finally realized I wanted to do nothing. I just kept falling asleep or staring into space. I needed that.
- Watching my kids act like hooligans: I corrected them too often, but the truth is that they are so silly because they love spending time together. They've played countless games of monopoly, plus whatever games my daughter has on her iTouch, and drawn pictures to illustrate a story that their grandad is writing. They were up talking in their bedroom until 10:30 last night.
- Driving out to see the Marfa lights: Well, I didn't see them (of course) because we could only tolerate staying out there for about a half an hour but it was still great - I'd always wanted to try. So that was the piece of the vacation that was "mine." I appreciated my family going along for the ride.
- Being told by someone that I "looked Irish": That's probably about the best compliment I've ever received. His wife and I were excited that we both had relatives on the Trail of Tears (that would be my Cherokee great-great grandmother) and he made that observation when I mentioned that the rest of me was Irish.
It feels as if these four days have been very full for me - but they haven"t been full of activities. Instead, I think these days helped refill my emotional tank. My husband and I are already planning a return trip for just the two of us this fall - he'll have more time with his telescope (the cold front that came in halfway through our trip brought a lot of clouds - crummy for an astronomer) and I'll have more time at the art galleries in Marfa. Maybe I'm supposed to come back out to West Texas every now and again to replenish myself. Who would have thought that would be the case?
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