Oct232008
France, here I come!
Filed under Vacation by Kim at 3:45 pm on Oct 23 2008
That is how I used to feel, as a kid, when standing on the sand at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. I used to give a good bit of thought to the idea of how I would find or contact my parents when the ocean swept me away to France. I grew out of that, but never quite forgot it. So at some point last week, when we were questing further out to [oh wow – “On The Shoreline” from the Genesis Archives just came on the ipod – spoooooky!] find the far edge of that sandbar, I shouted out, “Look out France, here I come!” And I wasn’t talking to Todd.
I think I had given up on ever really bothering to swim in the ocean again when I first moved inland. But no, I really do enjoy it after all. Sand in the crotch of one’s bathing suit and all. I found that I could sit in the extra-big crunchy sand when the tide was out and just look at all the little ground down bits of rock and glass for an indefinite period of time. I found I could fight my way out to that sandbar and pretend to know what the heck you do in order to bodysurf. It was really, really good.
I got a lot of other stuff out of vacation too; time with old friends and yet older friends. A massage at the spa by a lady who shares my taste in TV shows and my hometown. Several amazing homemade meals. Popovers for the first time. The knowledge that a ranger is my new favorite D&D class to play. Lessons in DSLR use. Time to finish a book I’ve been trying to finish for over 6 months. To see my parents. Curlier hair. New shoes. And, to top it all off, a general sense of well-being.
I actually haven’t been on many real vacations in my adult life. A few years back we went to New Orleans for a week, but other than that all “time off” has been parceled into little weekend trips or mental health days. This week I’ve felt clearer-headed, calmer, and generally more prone to thinking things like “I know this work is hard but I can do it!” or “Oh, our prof quit on us but left everyone with crap for grades on the last exam? We can overcome it!” than I was before I left. Back when I was just thinking “ohshitohshitohshit” for the most part about everything.
Phew.
