Back from Vacation

It's good to be home, to have my whole family together again, and to sleep in my own bed.
It's funny how the once plush king-sized hotel bed with an assortment of pillows, the billowy duvet, and extra-soft sheets can so easily be forgotten as I sink into my queen-sized familiar bed. The one that knows my every curve. Who's sheets are nearly 7 years old and who's duvet is stained with who knows what from my three kids and two dogs. It's also a wonder how the peace and quiet I was so in love with while Joe and I vacationed without the kids (and dogs) can so easily be filled with the sounds of two boys wrestling and a little girl trying to protect them both. (Joe says it's how the boys express that they missed each other while Jonathan was at camp for 2 weeks.) I do my best to ignore it all...until the wrestling laughs turn into fightin' words. Yep; we're home!
Our vacation was interesting, to say the least. It was to be our celebration for reaching 16 years of marriage. With Jonathan away at camp, we only had two kids to drop off with Joe's parents. Then it was off to Nashville to visit Joe's brother. It had been years since we'd been to Nashville and we were looking forward to exploring the city and seeing his new home in Franklin. We never made it into the city. His new home, however, is awesome. I kept thinking if the past 16 years had been different, this would be the ideal place to live. Such a different lifestyle than what we have. Not that I don't love our lifestyle, it's just fun to dabble outside of it every once in a while.
After a couple of days in Nashville, we made a stop in Chattanooga. We had high hopes here, too. After all, we'd read the recent article in Southern Living promising us a fun city, a clean city, a city robust in fun. What we found left quite a bit to be desired. But, this was an anniversary trip. Who really needed all that?
Our marriage has been full of dreams realized. The most prominent is the dream of our daughter. After losing Hope, I yearned for a daughter. It took Joe some time to join me but when he did, we were united in seeing the dream become reality. We have another dream we're trying to find a way to make reality. On this trip we thought we'd done just that. Only to find out, for now, it has slipped further from us. We're currently a little crushed, deflated, heartbroken.
But I think the best thing that came out of this anniversary trip is we learned that no matter what else happens around us, we have each other. Together we can always chase our life's dreams, relish in what we've achieved so far, and make the most of a not so great vacation. We're together and together we're home.