SHOULD

: used in auxiliary function to express obligation, propriety, or expediency

What I should have done was stay home and do laundry, begin packing for our trip, clean out the van and take it for an oil change.  What I did instead was tell the girls to eat breakfast and dress quickly so that we could head to Cheekwood.  We were a few days early.  Their beloved Treehouse exhibit doesn't officially open until May 26, but we got sneak peeks at the houses:

Sometimes it's hard for me to shake off the "shoulds" residing in my brain.  And this week that began with a birthday and ends with a family vacation definitely has a lengthy to-do list.  But the weather was lovely and B was grouchy in a way that only some time outdoors and engaged with art and/or nature can ever cure.  The to-do list?  It waited.  It was, in fact, still exactly where I left it when we walked out the door for Cheekwood.  And in the meantime, we explored a renovated garden, snacked in a Japanese pagoda and slid down the side of a Hobbit hole.

 While A and I laid on a blanket by the water and read, B took the camera and headed off, documenting and celebrating the day in her own way:

As we drove away, B said, "I love this place." 

"Me, too," I said, "It leaves me feeling so rested."

For this one day, that was more important than anything else I should have been doing.