When I leave for vacation, I usually like to clean my entire house. In fact, I'm so manic and OCD, I often can't pack until every room is clean and every stitch of laundry is washed and put away. This is both deceptive and quite a feat (you are probably thinking that I live like this all the time--but really, it takes vacation to get me to clean; and the house is so dirty from only vacationing once a year that it is quite an undertaking).
This year, the manic didn't set in, but the panic did. All I can think of when I think of home is this yellow spot beneath my bathtub. But with this heat (108 last Sunday), the 4th of July Holiday, flying solo at work and being 6.5 months pregnant, I haven't much felt like cleaning. I gave up the idea of coming home to a perfectly clean house, gave in to the limitations of being pregnant (i.e. I suck at life for 9 months) and left Friday night with the fear that I might not be able to let it all go.
Good news: its gone. We traveled about 2 hours from our destination Friday night and took our sweet time getting to vacation home in Fort Morgan, right past Gulf Shores. I'm not going to lie--not going to Tybee was a throbbing heartache--but I have to say, this Fort Morgan house is just what I need. It's so quiet here. The beach on a Saturday afternoon was practically deserted. The waves are small, but perfect for the little ones riding them. The water is so clear you can see the bottom and their is a nice ankle-deep sandbar a few feet out that makes you feel secure in the fact that you or the kids are not about to be swept out to see. It's serene, rejuvenating and not a fraction as hot as Georgia! Aside from the cringing southern accent Anthony has affected since we are in Ala-damn-bama, it has been delightful so far. And we're only just beginning.
Tony, Julie and Brookyln arrived late last night. The immediate friendship between Brooklyn and Oliver just about melted me to gooey-hormone-induced bits. She is the tiniest thing (although almost as tall as Brookyln--we grow 'em big in our family)--so petite and lovely. She has the most delightful little sing-song cadence and pronouces Oliver as "I-Love-Her". This morning she kept saying, "I-Love-Her is a-sleeping" as in, she calls herself, "Brook-a-lyn".
Becoming an Aunt is about the greatest thing, second only to becoming a mother. These little children, little genetic extensions of yourself, are one of the greatest joys of my life. More than getting away from dirty bathrooms--I was so excited to spend time with little Miss Brook-a-lyn, to get to know her and to earn her love as I have with the others. She adores Oliver, follows him around and copies everything he does, down to his whining about being copied. We haven't taken the two to the beach yet--it's been a lazy morning--but can't wait to see what this day brings!
I'm trying to turn the time-counter off in my head. Some years I get so hyper focused on "this time next week I'll be home" that I can't live in the moment. Adderoll has helped me tremendously with that. And I have to remind myself that I am usually very happy to head home, back to the routine of my life, refreshed and renewed. But then again--I'm usually returning home to a clean bathroom :-)
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