Sunday, August 3, 2008

Seeing the forest for the trees


The view along Highway 50 towards Lake Tahoe is truly a sight to behold. The narrow, winding roads, centuries-old trees, ageless boulders, formidable stone walls, steep mountainsides, tranquil creeks, and rustic cabins. Driving along, we marveled at nature's glory and splendor in anticipation of our family vacation to south Lake Tahoe.

For me, this vacation was a chance to let my hair down -- figuratively and literally. While on vacation, the words chores, piano, and workbook were noticeably absent from my vocabulary. It was as if the mountain breeze had toppled my stack of priorities like a house of cards. I surprised even myself by resisting the urge to make the bed first thing in the morning. And I'm sure I surprised my children by not requiring them to do likewise. The summer sun seemed to melt away our cares of yesterday and our worries of tomorrow. We lived in the moment.

And so while our house sat empty and quiet, we sat poolside amidst the sounds of water splashing and children laughing. The cries of "Marco! Polo!" reverberating through the air. While mail accumulated in our mailbox at home, pictures of our vacation accumulated in our camera. While our To-Do list hung steadfastly on the refrigerator, I hung on ever-so-tightly to my children as we raced across Lake Tahoe on a speedboat. And while our sun-loving tomatoes turned riper and redder with each passing day, our sun-drenched skin turned tanned and golden.

Now that we are back, and the children's summer vacation draws to a close, we can forge ahead with invigorated spirits to face the hectic school schedule that lies ahead. Oh how I wish to have a few more months of these carefree summer days.

To see pictures of our vacation, view our slideshow (with background music)!!