A change of scenery always helps bring things into focus for me, and for the fifth year running we rang in the New Year in sunny Florida. And even though there isn't necessarily any rest found on a family vacation (lo, the tensions between an adult desire to stay still and rest, and the childhood impulse to move and explore!), I am always so grateful for this trip. There is something fraudulent about stripping your winter coat in January, like we're getting away with a heist. The children dictate the pulse of the day, so there were sandcastles underfoot, tea served in seashells, and waves to run away from as quick as a sandpiper. I saw a sea turtle this trip. It bobbed to the surface for air and then was gone. Much like the week.
We came home to ice and snow. Oh, our frozen toes! Cecile was happy to return to her classroom, where she told her friends she spent the week in Gift Shop, Fla. Genevieve continues to grow in body and with her words, even combining them together: "coat, hat on," "mama, down" are examples. "No," is a favorite word at the moment, as is "stroller," which she says with such pursed, tight lips she looks like a guppy. The two of them are such buddies. There are fights and competitions for attentions, but they work so hard at trying to make each other laugh and are already very good at teaming up on me. They never stop moving and at the end of every day I am physically and mentally exhausted. I think someday I'll view this phase in my life as a long-exposure photograph: a scene captured over a length of time which grows clearer with distance.
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