Why do I feel like I should be sitting in a classroom with my fading tanned legs sticking to a hard plastic chair as I type that? Oh, yeah, maybe because learning from a vacation is that ultimate essay prompt that takes most of us back to middle school.
Thankfully this post does not include acne, big bangs or angst-ridden crushes on boys six inches shorter than me.
Anyway.
After traveling out of town for an entire week and taking a few days to recuperate reflect, I’ve come up with a few insights into myself, my child and the world.
Yup. I’m deep that way.
- As much as I tell myself I’m over my worry problem, really, it’s just around the corner, waiting to consume me. After my parents picked up Annalyn, I was knocked over by anxiety. The combination of leaving my daughter for four days and knowing that she would be flying on a plane without me was just too much.
- Praying and leaning on Jesus is still the answer to my worry problem.
- Taking motion sickness medicine (at least the over-the-counter kind) does not keep me from feeling nauseous when flying. It turns out reading SkyMall is the only way to distract me from the motion sickness.
- Mark and I are mountain people, not beach people. Please don’t get me wrong! We are so very thankful for our vacation, and we had a great time. And the ocean? Even on a rainy day, it is beautiful. But I think most people tend to enjoy and appreciate either the beach or the mountains – and we’re the put on sturdy shoes and hike up a trail kind instead of the fling off the flip flops and walk in rocky sand kind.
- I could have been a dolphin trainer. Seriously. I realize an overweight Midwestern girl who just admitted she prefers the mountains may not be who you think of when you think “dolphin trainer.” But not too many years ago (okay, many years ago), I thought a lot about pursuing a career in training dolphins for children’s therapy. Since I don’t enjoy the science, though, I assumed that career path was not for me. Turns out that having a psychology degree qualifies a person to train dolphins, though. Psychology, as in the subject I once majored in and actually did minor in. I don’t think I still want to be a dolphin trainer, but this realization kinda, sorta rocked my world.
- Cheese grits are good stuff. (This is less something I learned on vacation and more something I knew but had forgotten.)
- I am the only person in my family without an unlimited texting plan. Therefore, I am the only one whose phone bill will be unusually high next month, since my brother and mom decided texting was the easiest way to communicate between our hotel rooms.
- Traveling with three people means a lot of luggage. And when one of those people is too little to carry her own suitcase and diaper bag? Well, let’s just say we did not have enough hands in the airport! (Three suitcases, three tote bags, one purse, one stroller, one car seat – and no, we cannot juggle.)
- I love the timber industry. Okay, not really. But I love seeing the tall, skinny pines lined up in perfect rows. Even though I am fully aware that companies who make paper or something have planted those trees, I like looking at those trees and imagining that God is just as concerned with straight lines as I am.
- It does not matter how clean you leave your house and how often your friend checks on your cats. If you neglect them for 8 days, they will pee on your kitchen counter.
What have you learned lately? This post is linked to OhAmanda’s Top Ten Tuesday and Musings of a Housewife’s What I Learned This Week.
Cheese grits. YUM. :-)
And I'm a beach girl who appreciates the mountains, but I still luv ya. ;-)
Because I live in Mobile,AL I've grown up a "beach-girl". How could you not love the beautiful white soft sands of Gulf Shores, Alabama or Destin, Florida—the best beaches in the US(my opinion, of course)! Because my favorite season is Fall–& what better place is there to visit in the Fall than the mountains! We usually visit Gatlinburg, Tennessee when I speak of "the mountains". Love to do the hiking trails and the the cute cabins with your own personal hot tub are fun too. So, I guess I'm both a beach-girl & mountain girl! I'm also a fan of cheese grits, but love to crumble crisp bacon (not the healthy kind) on top-yum!
I'm probably more a beach girl as we live on a relatively small island the beach is never far away, and anything we call mountains here are probably really only hills!
You're an interesting lady! The dolphin training gig sounds awesome, and I constantly need to remind myself about my tendancy to worry. :) Have a great day!
PS – LOVE the title of your blog!
How kind of the cats to give you a welcome home gift… :oÞ
Gotta love SkyMall! I always wonder if anybody actually buys anything from it though…
I don't have unlimited texting either, so I can imagine the pain you felt! Actually, I've never sent a text message. Received a few, but never sent any. I know, I'm weird (have I mentioned I also don't have an iPod or digital camera?;)
A dolphin trainer? That is interesting. I don't think I would've guessed that about you.
Can you be neither a beach nor mountain person? I mean, I think I like both but also have problems with both: mainly, swimsuits in the one; bugs in the other. ;)
I don't know about bugs being a problem in the mountains, Chelley. Bears, yes, but bugs?
How funny! Dad mentioned Colorado for next summer. Didn't mentioned a group tour, though… I'm betting he prefers the mountains more, too, but also like you, he's really tolerant and indulgent. Traveling with kids is an acquired skill that improves with practice. Thankfully, our kids have proven themselves very patient as we learned. Des Moines folks loved the "pencil trees", too. Man may plant them, but God grows them.
Oh. Well, I guess I haven't spent much time in the mountains then, huh? ;) I was just thinking outdoors but not the beach, I guess. :)
ok.. i'm just NOW getting caught up on your blog. and for that reason, i'm not gonna comment on every post. but i will read!
anyway…i'm a mountain girl too. maybe it's because i dread wearing a swimsuit…
and i LOVE the pine trees all lined up in a row too. that and the rows in corn fields/bean fields in iowa…
annnnnndddddd…… did your cats seriously pee on the counter? did i totally miss that? i'm soooo sorry! i definitely would've cleaned it up!