March 22, 2017

Late last night, when it was around midnight back home, I clicked onto the video monitor in Lance's bedroom.  It was dark, but I could see the back of his head resting softly on his pillow.  I could see the outline of his little legs and feet sticking out of his blanket.  I watched him for a few minutes, noticed that I could see the slight rise and fall of his breathing, sighed to myself and clicked off my phone.

I chatted with each of the kids a little bit before bed.  I'm not used to hearing their voices over the phone line.  They always sound much younger and smaller than when I am talking to them in person. I'm missing them all a bit.  And I'm anxious to relieve my mom and dad.  If I think too long about how they are running my life, I feel so guilty I can't breathe!  So, I just don't let my mind think of it.  I told my mom that I'm just pretending I don't have a family!  It's a luxury to turn off all of the day-to-day worries and stress I usually have.  I feel a relaxation I haven't felt in years.  How can I ever thank my parents enough?

I started the day with a lovely run along the beach.  It was awesome!

My morning run... :)

After breakfast with Greg, I spent the whole day sitting on the beach.  Greg was in meetings most of the day, so I read and napped and even swam in the waves by myself.  At one point I was out bobbing in the waves when I looked back and noticed Greg sitting in my chair.  I rode a wave in and walked back through the sand to see him.  He was on a short break from his meetings, amused to find me out in the ocean.  He kissed my salty lips and sat with me for a few minutes before heading back indoors.  I realized something about myself.  A lot of the things that I do "because the kids want to," are really the things I want to do.  I almost rented a boogie board because I love doing that with the kids so much!  But I wondered how it would look riding it alone.  The beach is really crowded, so lots of people would see me! I've also wanted to build a sand castle and sit at the edge of the water and let it splash over me.  And I'm tempted to go back and ride the waterslides a few more times!  Those are all things the kids love to do, too.  I really do love being with my kids.

I'm enjoying my alone time.

I finished reading George Q. Cannon's book, My First Mission, the other day.  So then I started reading, "The Lake House,"by Ella Carey.  I finished reading it on the beach.  It is about this grand old lake house (very similar to the house in The Sound of Music) that was locked up and abandoned during World War II.  After the Berlin Wall came down, many old aristocratic families were able to go back in and repurchase their land and estates.  It was a fascinating story to read about life in the 1930s as they knew it, and then life now, as the family went back to see the remains of what had once been.  It was a great read.

I'm loving all the reading time with the sand between my toes!

I finally sauntered in about 5:00 to have a shower.  One of my favorite things to do in the whole wide world is to spend the day in the water and the sun, and then shower off and get fixed up for an evening out.  I love a nice, hot, steamy shower.  I love lotioning my sun-kissed skin.  I love applying my make up and fixing my hair and putting on fresh clothes.  It's my favorite time of day to fix myself up!

We are LOVING our time together!

We enjoyed another sunset dinner on the beach provided by Greg's conference.  The food and conversation were delightful and interesting.  As we were finishing up our assortment of desserts, the only light left was coming from the glow of the tiki torches.  There was a light ocean breeze and a sleepiness settling over us.  We excused ourselves and slowly walked, hand-in-hand, along the winding pathways back to our hotel room.

And another day ended with our doors wide open, the sound of the waves lulling us to sleep, wrapped in each others' arms.  What a glorious day on Maui!