return from rest

We returned from a much-needed vacation on Saturday. Jenn’s parents were gracious enough to give us a week at a resort in Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. We arrived in Fairfield Glade on Friday evening and spent the next day at the pool, in our suite and exploring the Fairfield Glade and Crossville area. A chunk of Sunday was spent listening to the required “buy a time-share” pitch. They kept telling us that it was a good investment for our children and our grandchildren and we let them know that we are the children and grandchildren that have benefited from a time-share so I we are their sales pitch doesn’t really apply. Eventually they saw that we were a lost cause and sent us to get our fifty-dollars for wasting two and a half hours. We traveled to Knoxville on Monday and spent some time around the World’s Fair Park. The kids played on a huge wooden play structure called Fort Kid and then we went down to the actual park, which is really not worth going out of your way to see. I am sure my friend brad would argue that there is at least one redeemable quality but we didn’t find it. My great uncle Jack lives just north of Knoxville so we spent Monday evening at his house with my great aunt Anne. It was good to spend time with Jack, who is my grandpa Sherman’s brother. He is a storyteller and had many new tales for me and a couple that I heard when we were with each other last. Uncle Jack is very moderate politically, which makes me like him even more because I just expected him to be extremely conservative. He gave me some ridiculously hot peppers from his garden to take home and gave me some words of wisdom about how to care for my family and making the decision to love everyday. He is a good man and I love being around him because it makes me think that had circumstances been different I could have heard these things from my grandpa. Tuesday was another day at the pool and afternoon naps. Wednesday we traveled to Gatlinburg. The highlight of the day for all of us was our trip through Smokey Mountain National Park. It was the first time in a while that I had spent a considerable amount of time in a natural setting and I rediscovered my love for nature, hiking and the overarching sense of peace found away from all of our “comforts”. We relaxed at the pool and at or home away from home on Thursday and made our way home Friday and Saturday with a stopover in Jackson. It was wonderful week of rest and it has been hard to settle back into the busyness of our new school and work schedules. Andrew started middle school this week and Brooklynn moved up to the five year-old class at preschool and she started ballet classes. It only gets more hectic from here but we are going to try to make more time for short periods of relaxation and solitude as we continue or journey.