Lakeside Gratitude from the Laundry Room

I've been away, 10 days unplugged and off-line. This morning I am incredibly grateful for my own bed; you never really appreciate your own bed quite as much as that very first night back in it...aaahhhhh!

We had some fabulous adventure and while I may have been off-line, I was still writing. This week, while I'm washing all of our worldly possessions, I'm going to share those posts; written lakeside from my lawn chair. Enjoy!

Day 1

On an ordinary day I wake up in paradise. The alarm clock rings and I find myself once again immersed in making coffee, lunches and beds, keeping my children happy and my husband content. I juggle schedules and meet commitments usually with a smile on my face and a song in my heart (sometimes the song is “Take this job and Shove it!” but there is a song.)

Yesterday I woke up, made coffee and lunch, made the bed and kept my children relatively happy, while I prodded them at the break of dawn, into our cram packed van in time to depart only 1 hour behind schedule (a personal best!)  I tried to do it all and still keep my husband content enough to handle the 5 hours of open road ahead of us.

In 5 hours with 3 kids in a highly confined space, there will be 2 stops to pee, 1 stop for gas, 4 radio station changes, 12 arguments, a bag of chips, 3 coffees, a rolling picnic, and a stop at the bank. My family tries to squeeze it all in before we reach the on ramp to the highway, 18 minutes from our front door. I can hardly impress upon you how glad I am that our youngest has out grown his car sickness.

If I had to choose my favourite part of any road trip it has to be those first 18 minutes. They remind me that despite our ever increasing time away from one another, we are, and still remain, a family. Those 18 minutes are the ones that tune everyone back into their roles. For the remaining 4 hours and 42 minutes the kids can attempt to over throw one another while Michael and I fake oblivion.

As the minutes and the Kilometers fall behind us we shed the burdens of everyday as well. Travel time, a mental decompression chamber.

It all gets us here…

Heaven (or the very closest a person can get without actually departing their container).

For 10 days we will soak in the scenery, swim in the water, terrorize the wildlife, fish and the balance of nature. We will toast marshmallows, squabble, play games, ‘partake’ and complain. These 10 days when Paradise meets heaven are my favourite of all the year, submersed in gratitude.

Spend some moment everyday in reflection of gratitude and happiness. Even if the time found is standing in line for coffee...use is wisely.

Michelle


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