Sand on the Laundry Room Floor

Well, the suitcases are unpacked, the laundry is done and put away, and the kids are readjusting to their normal routine. It was a fabulous four days (which, as I suspected would be the case, I was too busy enjoying to blog about it at the time.)

Mercifully, my inevitable sunburn was not as bad as it could have been, and is already fading. (Thank you Banana Boat, for your Aloe After Sun Lotion!) I know it says it will "extend your tan" but it also helps soothe and minimize peeling after a burn. And yes, I'm speaking from extensive experience, unfortunately.

We had a great time, but it was definitely more of a going-and-doing vacation than a resting-and-relaxing vacation. You know, one of those trips where you are just busy having so much fun the entire time that you need several days to recover after you get home. (Or another vacation!)

Of course you don't get any time to recover, because you're immediately thrown right back in to the real world. There's a house and kids to care for. Errands to run. Chores to do. It's almost a little jarring sometimes, but inevitably life returns to normal.

But by now you know me well enough to know that rather than dwell on the drudgery of every day life, I'll focus on the happy memories of a great trip with my three favorite people in the world. Did I particularly enjoy unpacking all of the suitcases and putting everything away? Not necessarily. But was I happy to do it? You betcha! Because everything that I unpacked and put away was just another reminder of the fun we had.

I found the perfect example of this when I started the first load of post-vacation laundry. With the first bit of clothes that I pulled from the basket, out came a cascade of sand - all over the laundry room floor. At first I groaned... one more thing to clean up when I'm already busy enough! But immediately after the groan came a smile.

Because that sand was the result of my kids' first visit to the beach. It was a gorgeous day filled with sandcastles, and seagulls, and screaming with delight as the waves crashed over us. So I happily swept it up. And in fact, I've decided that there is a direct correlation between the amount of sand that ends up on the laundry room floor and the awesomeness of a vacation. Next time, I hope I have an even bigger mess to clean up. :)