Ahhhh Yosemite

Half Dome from Glacier Point

The Sierras have always had a special place in my heart.  When my husband and I first started dating, we made our way to the mountains about once a month.  Summer seemed to run from April to October for us, as we traveled to places like Fordyce and The Rubicon for a couple days of rest and relaxation.  We trekked through those mountains and found our respite beside creeks and lakes that wove their way through the granite and off to the valleys below.  This year, we've been so caught up in our day-to-day madness that I forgot to take a breather!  Summer has been slow-coming around here. Our regular routine of shuffling the kids to preschool and dance class ended about a month ago, and yet summer didn't officially start for me until we ventured out to Yosemite for a wedding last weekend.  We went through the regular motions of packing the vehicle the night before, and stocking the car with treats for the kids that they don't usually have.  I won't bore you with the details of our trip TO Yosemite - I'd rather not relive it, honestly- but I will tell you that it included two freeway construction sites, one lost hotel reservation, a new hotel reservation next to a railroad track, and a diner that ran out of breakfast on a Saturday morning.  Regardless of the misadventure, we rolled into Yosemite early Saturday afternoon with plenty of time to make it to the wedding. 

The roar of the river behind our hotel was so calming for me, as most rivers have been in the past.  Water has so many healing properties to it, and watching it rush over rocks, smoothing them, tumbling them, pushing minerals downstream...it's very hypnotic.  It's like watching the ocean in Northern California, the waves crashing against these gigantic rocks, washing bits of them away with every swell and crash.  Somehow the waves of the ocean and the rushing of a beautiful river erode my worries away, making mountains of problems chip off into smaller hills, and eventually rinsing them downstream and over to shore.  In those few moments of watching the river rage behind our hotel, just as if someone had flipped a light switch, I was released from the hustle-bustle rush that our lives had been during the school year.  Now it was time to enjoy my family.

Here I am one week later, sipping my coffee and taking a moment to enjoy the comfort of my front porch.  The kids are sleeping in, the husband is in the shower, the dogs are laying in warm patches of sunshine on the lawn, and the kitties are stalking something.  The short trip to Yosemite paved the way into a relaxed week of playing outside and not doing much of anything, really.    The wind is shuffling the leaves around, and if I close my eyes, it sounds like a river.  Next week will bring 40 yards of fabric to my door, so I will definitely be on track soon, but for now, I'm just going to take it all in and relax.