Not Just the There and Then

Sometimes, I wake up with the desire to be somewhere else.

Sometimes, it's to be in a moment like this, where luxury and convenience and carefree-living was the name of the game. You couldn't help but relish in the joys of gorgeous Caribbean views and lingering, room service-ordered breakfasts.




And then other times, like this morning, I want nothing more than to wake from a deep slumber, find myself in a van moving across the Tanzanian "countryside", and spend my morning doing this, again:


I wonder to myself whether it's Africa. Or whether it's the children. Or whether it's the unknown and the discovery and the simplicity of moments like that. But no matter the cause, I crave it. I crave that feeling of complete abandon, timelessness, and absolute purpose. And it all comes with the territory, I think. Because fall, as beautiful and perfect as it always is, builds within me a tension. A tension of expectancy and growth... through change, through loss, and through new perspective gained.

And I'm just wondering where that is in the here and now, not just the there and then.

Missing Breakfast

Isn't it funny that if I could be anywhere, doing anything in the world right now, my sole desire would be to find myself sitting on this balcony eating this very same meal. Of course, Cliff would be sitting across from me drinking his tea while I nurse a cup of french pressed coffee (plenty of milk, and two raw sugars). There was just such a luxury and simplicity about our breakfasts in St. Lucia. We would linger for at least an hour, taking in the ocean and mountain views, laughing and flirting like day-old newlyweds do, and enjoying a delicious meal. Even nearly six months later, I long for those breakfasts. Sometimes I wake up wondering when room service is going to knock on the door and bring us our breakfast exactly as we ordered it (to our heart's content) at the very time we indicated on our courtesy card (the later the better).

Now, if I could only find a way to satisfy this insatiable desire right here at home...