My family spent the last week in Southern California visiting family and taking in the sites around town. It was a much-needed time to reconnect, my first vacation since returning to work full-time.Now that I’m back in the office, I miss the memories from last week: My children taking their first sail boat ride and seeing "pirate ships" and sea lions in San Diego Harbor, the gushing of their laughter as they braved the waves of the Pacific Ocean, the oohs and ahhs of watching polar bears jump in the water at the San Diego Zoo. I don’t miss the 20 minutes my daughter screamed about being in her carseat in the middle of the night as we returned home, but I think in time that memory will pass. I’ve got more important memories to keep: my daughter standing in my dad’s backyard stomping her feet saying, "I stay here," as we tried to coax her into the car for our departure; my son’s thrill of hiding in the cabin of the boat and discovering a window that led to the top that made him appear as if coming out of a submarine, the nap we all took on the sand of the beach, the tomatoes my daughter picked from my dad’s garden. Memories like these can be made in town or out of town; upon our return we spent lazy days at home and time playing at the mall. My children went in and said "Thanks" to the soldiers at the Army recruitment office at the mall and gleefully smiled as they were given stickers. They both screamed with joy upon seeing their other grandparents after their one-week absence. But there is also something to be said about returning to the normal routines of life, grabbing onto those cherished daily moments of playing with toys forgotten for a while, having breakfast together at the table before going to work and day care, sitting and reading books before bed (something that didn’t happen much in Cali because they fell asleep exhausted each day). The normal hum of life can be just as filling as those vacations, but those uninterrupted times together will hold a special place, always.

Posted in: Michelle Reese |

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