I missed you last week! I had a good reason for being absent though…

 

Our family took our summer vacation. Yes, it’s late, but officially it’s still summer for a few more days, so it counts! The kids had been after us to go back to a beach house in Florida we rented a couple of years ago, so we packed up and headed back down to the Gulf of Mexico.

 

 

It’s funny though. I knew I needed to slow down or the week would fly by. So before I left, I selected an intention tattoo to remind me to “Be Present”.  Even after all the packing and driving and unpacking and even getting my feet into the powdery white sand, I still felt like I was “on”. Seems strange, but even after putting the out of office message on the work email, and hiding my work phone deep in my suitcase on silent, my mind kept scanning for things to be done. Some were work related and worries about missing something important while I was out, but I also was focused on all the things the kids needed. It was as if I switched the doctor job over for the mom job and couldn’t downshift. No rest, at least not in my mind. Which wasn’t really necessary, since I had a perfectly good husband there to share the work.

 

So I spent a lot of time trying to find moments to be alone, which is a challenge with four kids who don’t sleep in yet and like to eat all day long. Between feeding them, watching them in the water so no one drowned, and having the five year old attached to me like a barnacle, there weren’t too many free moments. And I griped about it, mostly in my own head (but sometimes out loud a little).

 

But then I had a rare early morning alone on the beach. While writing in my journal and watching the waves, I realized something: there were many moments of beauty happening all around me, they were just different than I thought they should have been.  I was looking for rest and quiet and solitude – but that wasn’t for all of this time. Instead of deep meditative revelation and restoration, it was a different kind of loveliness: the memory making, laughter filled, splashy sandy bear-hug kind of wonderful. I just needed to look for it.

 

I didn’t take a lot of pictures. Sometimes when I’m behind the camera I miss enjoying the moment. So I took just enough to remember.

 

This was the shark that washed up on shore. Yes, it was still alive. Daddy put it back in the water.

 

Why were they soaking the seashells they collected? I’m still not sure…

 

This was the floatie that was used in all kinds of competitive water sports with Daddy. He started it!

 

And when they could get it away from him, they battled each other. Splash!

 

This one split her time between covering herself with sand and swimming like a fish. Cuteness!

 

They also liked to pick the beach grass flowers and present them to me in the early mornings…

 

And this was my favorite time of day – high tide, early in the morning. Can you hear that gentle surf?

 

Sometimes, rushing around is the culture in which we live. And culture is hard to turn off. But I’m trying! So I’m sitting still, breathing on purpose, and leaving the phone plugged into the wall instead of next to me. It may be that if I continue this practice, the next family vacation will be even more peaceful and slow. And maybe, I’m bringing some of that slowness into my everyday as well.

 

How about you? Do you find it a challenge to slow down, even on vacation? How do you find stillness in your life? Please share in the comments below!