Wednesday's Words July 2, 2008

I’ve come to an important decision. I’m going back to making lists.

This is the second trip in a row now where I’ve gritted my teeth and not given in to the urge to be completely anal and make a thorough, detailed list. And yes, this is the second trip in a row now where I’ve forgotten to pack some of the things I fully intended to bring. The fact that I’m really not missing those items so badly is entirely beside the point. So I’ve decided to stop fighting my nature. I know that as a result, I will once again be the target of jokes and the source of hilarity amongst my loved ones. But at least they’ll be smiling.

Today is day 6 of our vacation, and we’ve been having a good time. We’re staying in a different hotel than the one we stayed in last time, and we quite like it. They provide a continental breakfast which has a varied selection, including eggs. I’m completely in favor of anything that’s ‘free’.

Our room has a king sized bed, a very nice table for me to work at, a sofa, television, and a fridge and microwave. Um, about the fridge. It appears to have only two temperatures – semi-warm, and explode-the-cans-of-pop-in-the-middle-of-the-night-cold. That’s quite a sound to awaken to, let me tell you.

Do you suppose someone told the staff we were here from “the great white North”? I only ask this question because it’s just possible that they had arctic water brought in for the pool especially for us.

I have never gotten into a pool that was so cold in all my life. I credit my daily swims back home as the reason I was able to get into it at all. Once in the water it seemed not so bad. I checked the temperature (there was a thermometer dangling into the water) and it was 66 degrees Fahrenheit – that’s about 18 degrees Celsius. I enjoyed the swim, actually, although it did take me a couple of hours to get warmed up fully once I got out of it.

We don’t let little things like exploding pop cans or icy swims bother us. We usually just laugh, because we’re in vacation mode. Do you go into vacation mode when you travel? We always have, as if the act of leaving home removes all the stress we normally live with. I think that’s the main reason my beloved enjoys travel so much. Well, one of the reasons, at any rate.

Our friend has been very patient with me, taking me to his grocery store even though he thought it a silly thing to do. His niece asked, “Why on earth do you want to go there?” My answer was simple. I’ve been a wife and mother longer than I’ve been a published author. Going to the local grocery store I can see what people here eat, what’s available here that we don’t have at home. It’s another way for me to understand the different ways people live.

Our room has a magnificent view of a valley. Being in the mountains is different than what we’re used to. We enjoyed a thunderstorm Sunday night. The sky turned an absolutely menacing black, and then a heavy rain began to fall. The lightning strikes were happening on the other side of the hotel, acting like strobe lighting on the world outside our window. This morning, I awoke to a vista of pure white. The fog was so thick, I wondered if we’d have to change our plans for the day. I can tell you, as familiar as I am with this area, I wasn’t certain I wanted to drive anywhere in that kind of weather. As I sit here watching, the fog is rolling up the mountain, wisp upon curl and I can now see the entire valley.

That’s rather like life, don’t you think? Things might look really bleak, but sometimes if you just wait for a little bit, the situation clears. Now, over by the far edge of the valley I can see a bright, glowing spot. The clouds have parted, and some people are living in sunshine.

I hope the sun is shining wherever you are, and that if it rains, you don’t let it interfere with your day.

Love
Morgan
www.morganashbury.com