Monday, September 8, 2008

Those last days of Summer

Every year we take a weeklong camping holiday in the summer. (the boys and I do our own camping as well but the week with Dad along is always the best) It is a time to get away - not just from the city but also from our endless round of work and busyness, phones, computers, garden chores, etc. We always have lots of fun and adventuring but we also use it as a time of reflection. A time to think about and talk about what things we would like to change in our lives. I find that just by being away from our usual routine it becomes much easier to discuss "openly and dispassionately" those ruts and habits that we can get stuck in.


So each year we come back feeling renewed with all sorts of hopes and plans for the year. We choose a few key areas where we would like to improve our lives and plan to work on those. ( and more often than not we also often come home with all sorts of grand plans to move to the country and live an even more "down-to-earth" life) Mostly what we are looking for is balance - the balance between work and play; town and wilderness; the need for an income and the need for peace, quiet and time; adventuring and relaxing; time with family and time for self; our need for simplicity and the reality of the sometimes crazy world we live in. That is a lot to balance...and it is taking us a while to find our way, but I think we are getting closer. And life looks pretty good about now.(on the way home I said that since we hadn't seen any moose this trip maybe we would see some big horn sheep. A few minutes later there they were right on the side of the road. I snapped this one in mid leap) The boys are getting older which at times makes me incredibly melancholy but, at other times, fills me with a sense of mmmm...peace, I guess, as I realize that I have more time to once again remember and think about who I am...and what I love.Or to have time to find new loves...like kayaking a beautiful mountain lake at sunset and then again first thing in the morn.

Ahhh, life is good.

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