Spring... Break

 

Otherwise known as... Peace, Love, and Joy... at Home

Spring... Break.  Two years ago I traveled to Indonesia for an amazing Spring Break adventure with a friend who was traveling throughout southeast Asia.  Last year I turned introspective, and hiked solo in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Despite possessing an intense dislike of the word staycation, this year I opted to do just that.  I stayed home and took a pause.  I have met up with friends for lunch, and gave myself a spa afternoon with a two-hour massage and a facial.  (Before readers think this was over-extravagant, know that I had excess credits at Massage Envy from busier periods in my life.)

Tuesday was spent creating the most peaceful, nourishing outdoor space with my green thumb friend, Jess.  Every moment I've been home since then, I've had trouble staying out of that space, which overlooks the rough of a quiet golf course, and a few oak trees.  Squirrels dance and play, cranes stroll by, and the occasional cardinal makes his presence known with his familiar, clipped chirp.  I sit in the doorway, comfortable on the plush carpet, with my legs stretched onto the porch, drinking my morning coffee, and evening tea.

Peace.

Because I have been home, Aiko has enjoyed more attention than usual, and she gladly takes it.  In the morning she climbs on my stomach and demands affection, which I give freely.  She is my constant companion while I'm home, and enjoys the newly decorated porch as much as I do, sniffing her way around the herbs, licking the water off the leaves after I've given the container garden its morning drink.

Love.

In my last post, Enter... Spring, I mentioned the man in my life.  His first name is featured in a popular, zombie comedy (yes, such a genre exists), and so in the blog I will refer to him as Z., for Zombie, although he is far from such a creature.  Just as 2015 was the Year of Change for me, he was going through his own life transition.  2016 brought us to each other.  Out of the ashes of our former lives, we have found... Joy.

On this Good Friday, I wish readers Peace, Love, and Joy in their own lives.  Because if we don't have these things at home, how can we expect to have them anywhere else?