Home!

We are home after a blissfully relaxing week in Mexico. Picked up the kids at my sister’s house yesterday. They all seemed healthy and happy -- even dear sis was still smiling. Arrived home after an eight or so hour drive… we might be slightly worse for the wear, but happy to be home… all of us.



So! Mexico!

Five days at an all-inclusive resort on the beach. Rand and I had never done anything like this before. It was definitely a worthwhile experience. I can’t remember ever having so many days in a row of pure relaxation. We got up each morning whenever we felt like it. We took leisurely walks on the beach. We had a wonderful buffet selection for every meal – no grocery shopping, no cooking, no cleaning up after ourselves. Waiters kept our drinks filled and cleared away our dishes. We shopped. We read books. We took afternoon naps.

Best of all, we hung out with four of our oldest and closest friends (two other couples) and just had an all around good time.

I’ve been telling people that this trip was our fifteen year anniversary celebration (coming this December). In truth, it felt like the honeymoon we never managed to take. Fifteen years ago we were too practical. Our wedding night plans had been to drive across Kansas and get right back to work. Thanks to a gift from my sister, we made last minute plans to get a “fancy” room in Wichita and spend the night. Problem was that our wedding night corresponded with some sort of convention. There wasn’t a single room to be found… even at the not-so-fancy places. We ended up at a place called The Downtown Inn. The staff had been surprised when we rented a room for the night. It was that kind of place… an “hourly” affair.

Needless to say, the romance was lacking.

Our second attempt at a honeymoon was a couple of years later. As early “internet” users – we had researched and found a quaint little place in Denver known as a “writer’s” inn. The entry to our very expensive room had been located around back… by the dumpsters… right next to a very loud motor (some sort of ventilation fan) and plastic tenting with a sign, “Danger: Asbestos Removal.” We ended up at a Super 8.

Our third and final attempt at a honeymoon get-away was seven years later. Our first, Evie, was just a little tyke and I was pregnant with our second. The grandparents had agreed to keep Evie for the weekend while we retreated to a quiet little cabin in the mountains. The cabin was awesome. A little creek ran right along the front and it was pretty and perfect and picturesque. Rand got sick and ran a fever for 36 of the 48 hours we had allotted to be alone. I enjoyed the mountain view while Rand tossed, turned, and talked in his sleep.

Needless to say, we finally got it right. Mexico was everything we had hoped and a bit more. I didn’t manage to blog while I was there (they charged by the minute for Internet), but I wrote extensively in my journal and plan to share a bit of that here over the next week or so.

Right now, I’m starting to think about getting back to real life… which includes cleaning up the kitchen, laundry, and walking the dog.

It’s good to be home.