There is something to be said for getting away. For leaving behind your daily life. For breaking up the carefully ordered routine that gets your family through each day.
I say this having just spent four nights away with my family for a Spring Break weekend. We left Friday afternoon and headed for the mountains - to a simple cabin that was no frills, no wi-fi, no pressure. There wasn't laundry waiting to be done when I arrived. There weren't children's shoes scattered about the living room floor. The only books in the house were on a bookshelf.
Going away to vacation is always more relaxing than being at home (even if I do love having time off at home to visit our favorite hometown places). It's a combination of physically leaving your known surroundings, whether by car or plane, and a mentally leaving behind the responsibilities that surround you in your home environment. I think this is especially true for a stay at home mom (and perhaps even more so for a homeschooling mom). There is always something I can be doing if I'm at home. This doesn't mean I'm doing it - I may be reading a book instead - but you can be certain there is always cleaning, organizing or planning to be done.
But in a cabin in the mountains? There was no cleaning. There was minimal cooking. Accompanied by lots of reading, a movie every night for the girls and the completion of a book I've been reading for weeks. There were family walks, visits to a national park, riding roller coasters at a theme park, celebrating Palm Sunday at a tiny but picturesque church, picnicking riverside and wading in a river. This last was done only by my daughters. After putting my feet in and finding out the river felt like ice water, I opted to watch them play instead of play with them.
We didn't spend a long time away. With Spring Break and Holy Week coinciding, I was willing to miss Palm Sunday at our church, but wanted to be back for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. Yet this short trip was fun, rejuvenating and as restful as a vacation with three daughters can be.
On our second night at the cabin, I prayed with the girls all together instead of individually. Each daughter prayed about her thankfulness for time away. 12 year old A mentioned being thankful for getting to see a new place. 10 year old B was thankful for the mountains. 7 year old K was thankful for a cabin with a lamp by her bed (the poor child clearly needs a bedside table and lamp).
I am thankful, too. For time to see a new and different part of our state. For time to explore our world together. For glimpses of nature's beauty and how varied and vibrant it is. For a few days to sleep in and read more. I'm thankful to have had some time away.
(I have some lovely pictures of everything from the view from our cabin to a mama black bear with her cubs. I will post them when I find the camera...)
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