Mental Health Day

Saturday afternoon, at pre-cisely 3:18 pm, we loaded up our family (minus one very handsome Marine) into our car and headed out of town.  An hour and 20 minutes later we arrived at our destination: a Minnesota lake resort that my husband's family has been going to for over 30 years.  We met up with Keith's twin brother, Kyle, his sister, Bernadette, and his other brother, Rod - along with most of Rod's wife's family who had been at the lake the entire previous week. (Brother Paul was the only sibling absent.  But next summer, I hear he'll be there with bells on.)

We left the iPods, the video games and even my laptop (E-gads, even the laptop!?!) at home. And for the next 26 1/2 hours, we visited and reminisced, while soaking up the sun and the surf.  The weather was perfect and the company even more so.  The boys reacquainted themselves with 2 of their cousins, met some new ones and, with Aunt Bernadette's help, caught some of the most AWESOME fish ev-er.

Dad went skiing - twice - without hurting anything (For the most part. Ahem.) and I sat in one spot without moving for the longest time in ... well, in a long time ... and read one of the books from the towering pile that I have been staring at all summer.  The kids swam, caught a toad, water tubed and fished off the dock. We stayed up late and laughed and ate and played games handmade by Aunt Suzie's dad.

By the time we pulled out of the lake resort's driveway the next day, we were exhausted.  But in a pleasant, oh-so satisfying, when-can-we-do-that-again way.

We were tired...but refreshed.  We couldn't wait to shower and get tucked into our own beds...but we would be talking about those crazy, lazy, fun filled hours for days - and very possibly months - to come.

It was just what we needed.  Someone I know just recently mentioned taking making time to take an occasional "mental health day".  A day to get away from the craziness, the business and just the general foolishness and mayhem of everyday living.  In other words, making time to rest your body and spirit...before you lose your mind.  We too easily forget how badly we need to do this.  And when it does happen, we are always amazed at how good it feels - which maybe tells us we waited just a wee bit to long to do it.

But this time, I am oh-so glad we did. *sigh*

And, now, since a picture (or two or three) is worth a thousand words...

Thank goodness, at least I brought my camera! And did you spot me in my comfy chair? *giggle*

Be blessed...

When's the last time you took a "mental health day"? 
And when you read, "and his other brother..," did you think his name would be Darrel? *snort*