Last Week I Took This Path....

Last week was Spring Break for our family.  Originally I was supposed to teach in Portland and Mailey was going with me.  Well...that didn't work out.  Quite honestly I think it didn't work out for a reason.  Because instead, as a WHOLE family we went to the beach.  It couldn't have worked out better for us! We needed that time away from the world we really live in.  Our teenagers were super sweet the entire trip.  Like no complaints and plenty of cool conversations.

We stayed in the cabin above in Orange Beach, Alabama.  This is a family place I've been visiting for I guess around 30 years.  Crazy right?  It still smells the same, has many of the same decorations and I'm pretty sure the same mattresses.  HA.

It's not situated on the beach, but rather the Inter-coastal Waterway.  I kinda like that it's not on the beach.  It's in wooded neighborhood, that's quiet and so peaceful.  Plus, bringing my family here just as my parents did when I was a child is special in all kinda ways!

It even has an outdoor shower.  There is absolutely nothing better than taking a shower outside after being on the beach all day.  And yep...that sign says to "shower with a friend"......

The weather turned out a-m-a-z-i-n-g.  I'm not sure I've ever been down to Orange Beach so early in the season. It was way too cold to dip in the ocean.  But just right for tanning and napping and drinking cold beer.  Oh and for eating raw oysters...yummy! It was kinda freaky how un-crowded the place was.  I think all of Georgia was in Panama City.  (blerg)

Aren't we a super cute couple?  He's actually been coming here with me for 18 years.  I have vivid summer memories as an adult being here with Billy, pregnant with William, my little sister Molly getting engaged here and my parents still being together.  This place has a way of creating lingering memories.

In my 30 years of visiting here I've never seen a starfish!  Isn't he cool?  We threw him back.....there was also a slew of sand dollars and gorgeous shells.

Holy cheesecracker...I've got 2 teenagers!  Love them.  A lot.  We ate and ate and ate the entire trip.  Billy likes to eat out all meals on vacation.  I don't mind that.  The cabin also has amazing cable TV.  Funny, I do not remember that as a child.  There were like 20 movie channels.  So we caught up on a lot of movies!  I also ran 4 days in a  row!!  4 days!!!  Billy got up with me everyday and we ran together.  That was kinda sweet.

Oh, and Mailey picked up like 20 jellyfish off the beach.  She's such a weirdo.  And then she brought them home with us.  They are currently living in a Rubbermaid on my kitchen counter.  Awesome right?

Honestly I wasn't ready to come back.  I'm not sure I am ever really ready to come back from the beach.  It's Billy and I's reconnect place.  It's our we wanna grow old and play golf all day place.  Well, he'll play golf and I'll sleep and drink fun drinks with umbrellas in them on the beach.  And take long walks with Lily and Lawrence.  One day.

For now I'll just hold onto the memories.  And hope to make more next year.

Beach Feet

 

Yep.  It's Spring Break.  When my Portland classes petered out me I decided instead we'd all pile up and hit the coast. We are looking forward to time away as a family.  No doggies to tend, no screaming cats to feed milk, no yard to cut, no stuff to feel like I HAVE to do or pick up.  Just chill.  It's not supposed to be the best of weather.  Honestly, I don't care.  I just want to be away.  With the ones I love the most right next to me for 5 days straight. I secretly packed up a bunch of board games and bought a puzzle.  We always did puzzles on our beach trips growing up.  I figured it be a great way to pass the time.  While it rains that is......

Time for Rest

Yesterday was exhausting.  Both mentally and physically.  And today I am dreaming of painting myself into this painting here:

Man I love this composition.  It calls to me to relax, take time for family (there are two chairs there) and refocus.  After the news yesterday I decided to pack everything I've worked on away.  Out of sight type of mentality.  Today I've cleaned the house and am now relaxing in the art studio doing the most mundane of tasks possible.....cutting beads off their strings and placing them into compartments in a tackle box.  Yep.  Mundane.    Next up will be darkening bezels and charms.  After that.....well I am sure the swimming pool will be calling my name.  Maybe with a margarita or two.  Because right now, I am feeling really sorry for myself.  And no one can really take that away or heal it.  Just time.  Of course the beach would help too.  And thank goodness for small favors.  We booked our vacation for the end of the summer this year on purpose....the thought process then was that I'd be done with Solo Show work and could finally relax.  Well, this relaxing is two fold now, and very much needed. 

So I'll be offline for the rest of the week.  I don't even have a cell phone, it got wet at the pool yesterday and I had to order a new one!  Talk about being totally cut off.  But I'll be back next Monday all refreshed and excited about new projects I'm working on.  Here's a hint:  in the car I HAVE to be working on something.  This past weekend I picked up embroidery.  Yep.  Loving it.  Again, small blessing in disguise.  I still believe everything happens for a reason and that in the end my show moving will reveal a bigger purpose. 

Hope you all have a wonderful, creative week!