The Eye of the Storm

Yesterday I was on vacation with my family.  Tomorrow I will be taking both of my kids to college.  Today, by all accounts is a normal Sunday.  I woke up early, went to church.  I came home, ate the first thing I saw in the refrigerator, and promptly took a nap.  I woke up disoriented, not sure if it was Monday morning, or if I had over slept for church.  Now, I'm hungry for dinner and wishing that the kitchen fairy would show up and make me something fabulous.

It feels like I am sitting here in the eye of the storm, the calm moment sandwiched in between two big events.   The past two days were a whirlwind of fun and excitement.  We explored the island of Kauai with great enthusiasm, hardly coming up for air.  It was pretty much non-stop action.  We saw beautiful sites, played in the pool, and swam in the ocean.  We ate fabulous food, and had a great time.

This was the first family trip we have taken in a long time.  The last time we left the island together was 6 years ago, for my mother's wedding.   A trip, just for fun, was long over due.  It's easy to live in the moment during a trip.  I guess that's the point of going on vacation, to leave your cares behind and enjoy just what you are doing right then and there.  No wonder the family vacation is such a part of our culture.  We should have tried it sooner :).

 I had no idea, but there is this amazing, Grand Canyon like site on Kauai.  It is Waimea Canyon, on the west side.  The drive up there was long, and winding, and did I mention long? and winding?  After hearing protests from the back seat of motion sickness, and my own rising sense of panic and queasiness, I cried, "uncle", about 2 minutes before we reached the top.  Thankfully the driver didn't listen to me!  That was a good lesson for me about not giving up too soon, etc, etc.  Anyway ... see for yourself, the view was breathtaking!! 

It's kind of hard to believe that all of these photos were taken on one island, only 33 miles wide and 25 miles long.  It was cold and wet at the top of the Canyon, warm and sunny at the beach.  When the river boat stopped at the Fern Grotto, it was down right hot.

... and today is, well, just plain old, normal.  Which is good.  Normal can be a very good thing.

Tomorrow both of my kids are packing up, and heading off to college.  Not unlike the vacation, it will be a day full of excitement and activity.  There will also be a couple of long drives, and maybe even a stop at the beach :).

And after tomorrow ...  normal will be reset.