http://www.madjeepgirl.com/madjeepgirl/Blog/Blog.html i think<br/>therefore<br/>i iWeb 3.0.2 http://www.madjeepgirl.com/madjeepgirl/Blog/Entries/2011/5/31_Entry_1.html a0d9ab8a-e043-47d8-a2be-8db74448d1a0 Tue, 31 May 2011 08:29:51 -0400 <a href="http://www.madjeepgirl.com/madjeepgirl/Blog/Entries/2011/5/31_Entry_1_files/IMG_3935.jpg"><img src="http://www.madjeepgirl.com/madjeepgirl/Blog/Media/object000_2.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:216px; height:123px;"/></a> http://www.madjeepgirl.com/madjeepgirl/Blog/Entries/2011/4/16_aloha_%26_mahalo.html 58f82ea9-96c3-4261-bd7b-77bcf36f9827 Sat, 16 Apr 2011 22:27:54 -0400 <a href="http://www.madjeepgirl.com/madjeepgirl/Blog/Entries/2011/4/16_aloha_%26_mahalo_files/IMG_5248_1.jpg"><img src="http://www.madjeepgirl.com/madjeepgirl/Blog/Media/object000_3.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:236px; height:162px;"/></a>vacation. <br/>it should be restful. restorative. relaxing. peaceful. sunshiny. enjoyable. adventurous. <br/><br/>check. <br/>done and done.<br/>(plus a flesh wound thrown in for good measure.)<br/><br/>but for me, time off and away from the everyday also presents an opportunity to ruminate. evaluate. to sit in awe and soak up the power of creation that exists in this world. that i can’t control. that is bigger than i am. that moves beyond me. regardless of me. a chance to reorient my thinking. perhaps my priorities. to let the murkiness of my thoughts settle into a calming clarity for a time.<br/><br/>i didn’t get much of a chance to intentionally sit until our 9th day here. i started reading love wins while the waves crashed to shore just feet from my toes. my ipod sat quietly in my lap. music would have been an intrusion. it’s an interesting sensation to read this much-needed book with the surf cranked around me in real time. next year i will do more of this.<br/><br/>this trip it was just me and the boy. it allowed for more spontaneous personal conversation about who and where we are. what we’ve been struggling with. what we might be dreaming about. or wish we were.<br/><br/>this vacation ended up being a necessary time for reorienting us. together. where we’re going. what’s around us. where we want to be. <br/><br/>i learned a couple years ago that vacation is good. vacation is necessary. it promotes good health. (except for that flesh wound incident) our bodies, minds and souls need a break. <br/><br/>where is your favorite place to vacation or take a break from the “real world”?