Pause and Refresh...

Feeling just a nip in the air this morning, and here it is, nigh on mid-November. I've experienced many a Thanksgiving in shorts. Just last week, my sister and I trundled on down to Panama City for a short trip, just us two. Her universe is busy and mine is too. We talk on the phone but don't get much time to sit and talk. But we did, and resolved to do it more often. 

Laguna Beach Christian Retreat Cottages is where our children grew up going to the beach. It was cheap, simple, and they had pools, basketball, volleyball courts, and lots of cousins around. The beach is right across the street. We usually went for long stretches, a couple of weeks, twice a year. We thought Cottage #7 belonged to us. When Melanie and I arrived days ago, it was surreal to be back there, especially because we were the only two humans in the whole camp. Fortunately, they still had the heat on in the pool. We sunk our toes in the sand, talked our heads off, watched the sunset and then relaxed as we treaded water for hours in the yummy, warm pool. We ate what we wanted, Little Debbies and pasta...because then we were committing to The Great Reset after our trip. Metabolic resilience is kaput, so we have to work at it. I always had to, but didn't. She didn't have to, but now does. Go figure.

Between us, we have 2 husbands, 15 children, 12 in-laws and 34 grandchildren (so far). It's hard to get a word in edgewise, much less make any kind of girl plans. But I'm so thankful we did. As life goes along, it's easy to put up boxes and edges that cause us not to communicate with each other. A flaming sunset and a long float in the pool tends to undo those things. Our roots are good but we've been pruned all along the way. So let's get back to the bud. The honest words and love of a sister are hard to beat. 

We came home to a sea change in politics and hit our separate floors running, hardly coming up for a breath. There's Christmas to buy for, Thanksgiving food to plan, and the tree to put up. I'm tired, trying to get into bed earlier, and batch cooking some real food. That spring chicken simply will not show up these days to help me out but the show must go on.