away we go // the beach & in coming home

we just got back from a sweet little holiday spent in florida where andrew's parents live for part of the year.  we got to play in the sand, splash in the cool ocean water, ride camels at the zoo, and eat our weight in sea food.  i think i had fish tacos everywhere i went and boy was it ever yummy.  give me all the tacos!

it was such a great trip.  it came at that point in the year, smack in the middle of the lull and drag of march that can sometimes be rather gloomy after having spent so much time indoors throughout the winter months.  as the snow snowed on here in the midwest we eagerly awaited tasting the salty sea breeze on our lips and long afternoons spent in the sunshine with no agenda.  we found that sort of respite on this little getaway of ours.  theo dug in the sand for hours and hours with his little straw hat on and stella chased sea gulls and collected shells.  we went through heaps of sun screen and took long naps in the middle of the day.  it was so much fun watching our babies experience so many new things for the first time.  thinking about the joy on their faces brought on by this adventure makes me smile right now as i lay in bed listening to robins chirp in our backyard.

as beautiful as this holiday was, i think the thing i loved most about going away was actually in the coming home part, as silly as that might sound.  i relish in peeling back the covers of our bed after having been gone for more than a week.  rocking theo in his nursery early in the morning, the sun still somewhere over the atlantic.  waking to familiarity and comfort, and having strong coffee in my favorite mug.  listening to our little ones pitter patter across the hardwood floors in the morning as they make their way from room to room.  the parts of home that you just can't get when traveling.

the first few days spent somewhere new is exciting and refreshing and hopeful.  but coming home after a long bout away is a whole other level of wonderful.  home compared to anything else always wins.  going away, as always, puts things in perspective and really makes us appreciate what we have, even if the nearest beach is miles and miles from where we sleep.