Toes in the Water, Ass in the Sand… That’s Where the Real Work Begins.

I write this with my feet lazily tucked into a mound of warm sand. I feel it sift between my toes. I have needed this feeling for far too long. The heat of the sun seems to thaw my body and then work its warmth right down to my bones. The water crashes against the shore, and then lazily meanders up the beach. Each crashing wave sharing secrets that refresh my soul.

This kid-free vacation has been a long time coming – almost 2 years – which Hubbz and I have decided is far, far, too long. Life, as it does, got in the way over and over again. Before we knew it, it had been a lot of days since we made time to fall in love with each other again. At the end of May, I told Hubbz I needed to go somewhere to fall in love again, he informed me that he was good because he was vested. I punched him in the arm and he winked at me- I am confident under his jokes (because the man got jokes) he felt the same. Not because anything was wrong or bad but because we just needed to get re-centered. I look over at Hubbz lazily laying next to me soaking up the sun. His eyes are closed and his breath is slow and peaceful. There is something about the rest and relaxation of the beach that puts both of our souls at ease. The past few days our laughs have gotten a little bit more joyful and our burdens a little lighter. The demands of the world have begun to fall away, or at least put back into perspective.

I still my mind to listen to the sounds between the crashing waves. A child’s laughter in the distance, a seagull’s squawk overhead, and then silence. A silence that is far from deadlines and distractions. A silence that is far from demands of our jobs and family and friends. A silence that is far from the chaos that life sometimes brings. I breath in the silence and my soul sings a little… full disclosure, girlfriend was having Dance Party USA in my head over all this zen.

There’s something profound that needs to be said about having “toes in the water, ass in the sand, not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand” (thank you, Zac Brown Band). The beer has been replaced with a hot tea and a bottle (or few) of wine, but the sentiment of this whimsical little song holds true. “Life is good today.”

It is here in this space that the real work begins.

Life is good today. It is so very easy to see life as good when zero ‘effs are being given. A warm beach, amazing company and a blue sky make a stellar perspective pretty simple. Keeping this framework firmly intact as we head back to our everyday… there is where the real work begins, Friends. Keeping the perspective through the deadlines and distractions, through the chaos and the demands on our time, through Toddler B’s very independent 2 1/2 year old antics. #realtalk This is where the real work begins. We came to the conclusion that we keep this framework solid through intentionality. Through keeping the main thing the main thing. For us that main thing is the God we serve, the marriage we vowed our lives to and the son we are raising into a man. In that order. Here is what we discovered after 17 years together. If any of those things are in the wrong order, life doesn’t work. It doesn’t flow smoothly and it doesn’t feel like it’s good. Of course there are seasons where work is pure insanity, a loved one is sick or our kiddos require more time and attention. Priorities in our lives shift and move but that is why we need the God we serve at the center and quickly after that, the partners we vowed to do life with. God’s got us covered in the spiritual and our spouses have us covered as our helpers and partners.

I look back over at Hubbz, who is now watching me and smiling. I feel like he is no longer annoyed that I got him out of bed at an insane hour of the morning only to bundle up and sit on a beach until the sun wakes up. I offer up a prayer of gratitude for this man. It’s time to sign-off and enjoy every second of this vacation with him.

Friends, take the vacation, get off the grid and do whatever your version of toes in the water, ass in the sand looks like. Before I go, can I go ahead and quote a little Ferris? “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Don’t miss it, Friends. Whatever you do, don’t miss it.

Meet you back here next week, same time, same place,