Saturday, January 3, 2009

Happy New Year and The Holiday Travel Hangover


Hello everyone!


I'm back...and boy what a Christmas and New Year's we had. We traveled....a. lot. I think that it's quite possible that if we had driven in a strait line we would have driven at least halfway across the United States. Yes...that's how much traveling we did.


And we never left that state we live in...now that's not really saying much as we do live in one of the larger states in the Union. But it did make us decide this was the absolutely last year we are doing this.


Traveling, I mean.


We've been married for eighteen years and for those eighteen years we have lived at least five hours and more away from our immediate families. And for eighteen years we have packed ourselves and our gifts up and traveled to see family.


Now don't get me wrong. We love our family. But friends...I would dearly love to stay home for Christmas. Home. The place where I live. Because after eighteen years home isn't where I or my husband grew up.


I could get all sentimental right now about never being able to go home again, or about home being where the heart is, or home being where my husband and kids are. But this is not a Hallmark moment I'm having. I just don't want to travel that much during the holidays anymore.


And sleep in a variety of beds.


And eat at weird hours.


And eat rich food (which tastes really good but doesn't always settle well).


And go to bed too late.


And get up too early.


Because at forty-three...the recovery time is...errr...shall we say a lot slower than it was at twenty-five.


But having said all that we did have a wonderful time with our families, and were blessed in a myriad of ways, not just with presents. I hope to write a little more about that in the next couple of days...I'm still just letting my thoughts and feelings about our Christmas gel a little before I write about them. God showed me some really neat things this year and I'm still thinking on them and processing them in my heart and mind.


So anyway...Hello again! It's good to be back and I hope everyone of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's Day!