What took you so long?

Where to start? Trey and I have just come home from a 7 day trip to the Sandals at Montego Bay, Jamaica. I don't remember a time I felt this rested and content. I could write about blessings for the next several hours! We have never left both kids for a vacation of this magnitude, so I feel like we've reached a milestone. That said, when we arrived, our driver who met us at the airport (He called himself All the way Ray) asked, "Is this your first time in Jamaica, mon?" We answered in the affirmative and he countered with "What took you so long?". Post trip, I'm asking myself the same question. I realize that this extravagance seems odd given that we're trying to eradicate debt and build a nest egg. Indeed, it wasn't part of our budget we've worked out with our financial advisor (aka my Dad), but we had already booked and paid for the trip before we met with him. I am so glad, because now I see that it was a tremendous investment in our health and our marriage.

More in keeping with our new financial saavy, is the fact that I didn't pay the $15/half hour for internet access (this shows up in a blessing too). I had to jot notes the old fashioned way for my blog, so in this entry, I will be posting blessings 62-69 to catch up. Here we go:

Blessing #62, June 28 2010
I am thankful that we have arrived safely in this tropical paradise. My children are having the time of their life on my parents' farm, and my husband and I setting out to make "just us" memories. We will make jokes about "All the Way Ray" for years to come! It is a blessing that we are able to have this time, and that my family is caring for my children.

Blessing #63, June 29, 2010

Today a disappointment became a blessing. I learned that it was going to cost $15 for 30 minutes of internet time, so that means I can't do my blog entries. When I found this out this morning, I was bummed, but now it is night, and I see that it was a gift in disguise. With internet comes email, news, and countless other distractions. Plus, I can only imagine trying to write everyday in 30 minutes or less-geez, the pressure. I have spent one full day completely out of touch, and I feel tension dissapating from my tight shoulders, neck, and back. I will take a few minutes at night to jot down my blessings, and I can type them when I get home. I am thankful that for the rest of the week I will be detached from my hectic reality and firmly planted in this one where relaxation, not frenzied activity, is the norm.

Blessing #64, June 30, 2010

Food, glorious food! So far, everyday I have a had an omelette with bell pepper, cheese, and tomato for breakfast. Have I mentioned how much I love omelettes? Trey cooks a great one, so I am not knocking him at all, but it is rare that I get a deluxe breakfast and don't have to clean up after it, then hurry on to the next task. I mean this isn't just about eggs. I am eating pineapple, mango, papaya, plantains, bacon, and oatmeal with all the fixings. And I haven't washed the first dish. When the meal is over we just keep sitting there luxuriating in the experience. I guess we don't do that at home, because the meal is just something else on our to do list, and we have to get to the next thing. When I get home, I am going to make a concerted effort to savor each bite and moment at the table with the people I love.

Blessing #65, July 1, 2010

This place is gorgeous. I have felt routinely that I must have skidooed (this is a test to see if you watch Blues Clues) into a postcard. This morning we went snorkeling,and I was dumbfounded by what I saw. I've been snorkeling before as a kid, but this time I was astounded at the variety and beauty of life in the ocean. Schools of fish swam around me, I watched the bioluminescence of the jelly fish, and I felt tremendously blessed that this beauty existed and that I was privileged enough to see it. As a child I loved the experience, but I think I lacked perspective. In fact, probably, I believed that all the fish and coral and color was there just so I could see it. Now I understand that it is a luxury many never experience, and I am more awed because I understand that life in the ocean is necessary for human life to exist. I guess I am growing up.

Blessing 66, July 2, 2010

Lately, I've been having headaches in the afternoon. I wondered if they were from a lingering sinus infection. Well, I haven't had a one in Jamaica. That tells me a lot about my stress level at home. I am going to do better! I am going to decide to relax even in the States.

Speaking of health, I am blessed that I've been able to exercise with my husband here. Have I ever mentioned that he is a Physical Therapist and Athletic Trainer? I've had a my very own personal trainer on this trip. He's helped me with exercises for my back, core, and extremeties. He is so smart! He kept me out of the OR when I herniated discs in my lumbar spine, and now he is keeping me strong and healthy. He has a blog too www.fitnessasiseeit.com where he chronicles his workout routines and offers advice. It's pretty funny that I've been keeping up with him through his blog. We just don't talk as much as we should at home-so it has been wonderful to rediscover how gifted he is at his work, and how passionate he is about it. What a blessing that his work is a ministry, and that everyday my husband makes the world a better place for his patients.

Blessing #67, July 3, 2010

We've been snorkeling 3 times now. This all inclusive vacation thing is fabulous. The food, the scenery, the activities-all we have to do is show up. Today we checked out a kayak and rowed the length of the beach. It took us a long time on the way out, because we were rowing against the current. We were sweating and laughing the whole time. It was a lot of work, but we had so much fun. The memories that we are making together are precious. I am so blessed that this time with my husband as reminded me of just why I fell in love with him in the first place. There is no one I would rather be with.

Blessing #68, July 4, 2010

We're heading home today. I am ready to see our kids! I am thankful that we have had an amazing, safe trip thus far. We are blessed that the country we are going home to is a free country. It is wonderful that we left the States because we wanted to, and not because we had to to escape persecution or hopelessness. I am glad to be an American. Happy Independence Day!

Blessing #69, July 5, 2010

Oh, I missed the kids! Now that we are home and have spent the day with them, I am tickled to death at what wonderful little people they are. While we were gone they spent two nights with my sister, Jean. She told me that they slept in the same bed, because Katie said she would be "scared without Brother." Chip climbed into bed, read her a story, and snuggled with her till they both fell asleep. Today, they played for hours with the Jamaican stuffed monkeys (they have dread locks), regaled us with the adventures of their week, and hugged us several times spontaneously. It was a blessing to have a week with just Trey in a tropical paradise, but the blessings here with my family are so abundant. I think it is easier to see them after an absence. Just that heightened awareness of how good we have it here makes the trip worthwhile.