Back to Life Back to Reality

Well, I'm back...and still recovering from a trip with five women...
Group dynamics is really an interesting concept.
More on that later...

The Iberostar Paraiso Lindo was BEAUTIFUL. By far the nicest resort I have ever been to. We decided to do an all-inclusive, which I've never done before, and it was the best. For five days straight, all I did was eat, drink, and eat some more and I never had to worry about money. There was delicious food everywhere, ice cream, crepes, drinks, guacamole, fresh salsa, chips, huge breakfast/lunch buffets, 15 different restaurants for dinner, 24 hour room service, and a full service snack station right on the beach. It was heaven.

The pool was gigantic and stretched the entire length of the resort including lazy river, wave pool, swim-up bar, 5 different waterfalls, and tons and tons of lounge chairs under grass umbrellas. Throughout the open-air lobby and entrance to the hotel, the walkways were lined on both sides with streams complete with fountains and lights. The beach was also beautiful...it ranked right up there with the Mediterranean beaches in Europe. There was not a rock or shell on the white beach and the water was an awesome blue-green. There was also an ENORMOUS open air theater where each night the workers would put on Dirty-Dancing like shows. (Not dancing dirty, but like the movie Dirty Dancing where each night at the resort all the guests would gather and watch the performances). At first they were kind of cheezy, but quickly became addicting and something we looked forward to every night. Then we would head over to the Star Wars themed night club (also cheezy/addicting) for some dancing.

It was a great vacation and I'm very thankful for Jon, Rachelle, and Ruth for holding down the fort here while I was gone. Never once did I worry about the kids because I knew they were in the best hands. I was really able to disconnect from mommy-land for a substantial chunk of time and recharge my batteries. I was so great to lay by the pool/beach all day and just rest. And at every meal, I was always the last to finish because I ate as slowly as possible, trying to savor every uninterrupted bite. I took naps when I wanted to and went out every night not having to worry about waking up with the kids. I don't want to say that I didn't miss my kids, because I did. But honestly...not that much. I know in the depth of my soul that I needed this time away. I was really burned out. I had forgotten what it was like to be alone with myself. Just to be with friends and talk, laugh, and do silly things gave me the energy boost I really needed. I actually started AND FINISHED a book. I read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. I credit this book for also helping me to remember what is important and that the time we have here is unpredictable and finite. The author just passed away a couple weeks ago from pancreatic cancer at age 48. He leaves behind a wife and 3 very small children. The book outlined his view on life, especially in light of knowing that he only had 6 months to live. Because he wanted to live as normally as possible, his kids didn't even know he was sick until the final days. More on that later too...

More pics and stories to come...still need to unpack and get stuff in order. Nursing school offically startes next week!