It is a strange thing to feel like you need a vacation after you return home from a vacation. One would think that a weekend at a resort and spa would rejuvenate and re-energize me for the start of the week. Quite the opposite, I am a little spent. It may be hard for anyone to feel sympathy for me if they hear that I did not lift a finger in preparing the delicious meals I ate the past couple nights. I dined on locally grown vegetables and protein cooked with savory herbs. Freshly caught trout on a bed of broccolini and lentils melted in my mouth with every bite. Perhaps the cuisine was even more delightful because I had been eating with restrictions since the start of the new year. It was heavenly and worth every backward step in my food plan.

It was not only my taste buds that were pampered, I spent almost eight hours in a spa. Two of those hours I was getting scrubbed and rubbed by a masseuse and the remaining time I lounged in a natural heated outdoor mineral bath and and in an indoor relaxation room with herbal tea in hand. 

By this point, nobody reading this could possibly feel bad for me or understand why I am tired this morning. It was also a break from taking care of the puppies, so no middle of the night barking, needing to let them out because they did not fully relieve themselves at bedtime. No paw cleaning at the door. No training walks. The bed that I slept in did not have a pair of dogs. In fact is was the best sleep I have had in a long time, heavy covers enveloped me in this cocoon away from home.

So again, you may be wondering, how can this make me tired today? There were six of us on this little get-away weekend. Six women with full busy lives we lead, who each were there to take in the mountain air and get a much needed reprieve from work and family life. They were new friends to me for the most part, and getting to know one another did not take long. As a writer, I tend to draw my energy from sitting quietly reading and writing. I’m from a large loud and fun family but I balance and fill my tank with quiet reflective time. On visits out west to see my family this same kind of taxing feeling happens to me. I love the energy buzzing between my extended family but it wears me down sometimes.

I enjoyed the conversations shared and the exchange of stories with these new friends. And yet, I returned home last night with a little sigh of relief. I awoke to the sweet silent (except for the high pitched yawns) kisses from Koda and Summer. My coffee mug is next to me, the dogs are gnawing audibly on their chew toys. My inner reflections are the only words whispered. My face is still glowing from an amazing hour long facial, my skin’s soft from the body sugar scrub, and my muscles feel good from the yoga class with which we started are weekend on Friday, 

Today, I am experiencing the re-entry that follows several days of stimulation of all my senses. Some people can hit the ground running a day after such a weekend, feeling reinvigorated. I feel more like the aussiedoodles after a long walk with lots of training and exercise. The stimulation of their bodies and mind wears them out and they take long naps. I won’t be napping, but I may just chill around my house all day. 

I am grateful and blessed to have been given that opportunity to be a part of this small group get-away. Moms need breaks from husbands, kids and puppies once in awhile. Then the homecoming is that much sweeter, everyone feeling appreciated and missed. As I type these last words I look across the room at Summer who is stretched out near the fireplace, only the rise and fall of her black curly haired chest. Then Koda is curled in a ball in the nook between throw pillows on the sofa, also in a deep sleep. They are refilling their energy tanks for the next walk or romp around the yard. I may just pour myself another cup of coffee and re-energize alongside them.

*Today’s post is dedicated to a very special friend of mine who lives far away but is very close to my heart right now. She is in my prayers this morning.