This is winter in Zambia. In the mornings EVERYONE has a coat and a hat on but us. By 10:00 it is very pleasant outside. Even with all that said, this is not what I had planned to be doing in July as we calendared the year last December. Last month I had planned to be hiking into Zion National Park with the "boys", and of course the Trinity Lake group just went ahead and had a great time without us as soon as school was out. It was this particular week of my birthday that our family was scheduled to be in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Well, even THEY went ahead and went without us, and here I am with a tie around my neck, standing in bank and phone and water district lines, then getting home well after dark.
Maybe I sound a little bitter or resentful, which is a real interesting subject in itself. However, I think I am feeling a little left out of traditions of my own making.
You see, we have been very fortunate to have gone to the same place in Mexico for twenty-five years for once or twice a year. This week the kids are there without us. Am I homesick?
This is one of my favorite places in the world.
It really isn't the amenities. It is the "getting away" that makes it so relaxing.
The phones don't ring. You can do whatever you want. That is the only rule. If you don't want to go out to eat, stay home or vice versa, no pressure. Go to bed or play Settlers all night. Release turtles in the sunset or finish the book you haven't found a quiet time for. It is amazing how a whole pack of people can do whatever they want individually and still be together.
This is how the place looked when we first went there.
We were sort of young and skinny then. (One of us still qualifies)
You can see that back then it was pretty much "all by yourself".
We have explored most things within a day's drive.
We had one pair missing (Brent & Rebecca) the year this photo was taken.
I love just taking off and finding what is out there.
I love hitting the hammock,
or the golf course where it doesn't matter if you hit the ball, because the course is so beautiful.
Yes, I'm homesick this week for everyone having fun without me.
The sunsets in Zambia are pretty too! Honest. I just can't find the beach.
