I Have Just Returned From the Edge

It is very cold in The Middle at this time of year.  As I write this the temperature outside is 20 degrees below zero.  Sometimes a vacation to Gramma and Grampa's house on The Edge is just what you need to thaw out your toes and warm up your heart.  Don't get me wrong!  Packing up a family of 5 for a nine day vacation over the holiday is a monumental task that involved packing out the company that was with us for 3 days prior to our departure, arranging a ride to and from the airport, finding a non-traveling teenager to care for the dog who was being left at home, finding someone to cover work while I was away, getting out the boxes of warm weather clothing and determining which sizes of what things fit which kid and would fit into the suitcases that we were going to have to pay to fill with clothing and gifts that we would have to pay to bring home with us, and many other things that did not have me reveling in warm holiday feelings as we prepared for our journey to The Edge.  But the preparation for the trip is never why you go anywhere.  The fun of being there has to be worth the pain of getting there.  For us.  This time.  That was totally true.  It was a wonderful trip.

I have many souvenirs from my Christmas vacation on The Edge; wonderful holiday memories of my children and their grandparents that I will keep forever, 5.2 pounds that I will NOT keep forever, precious videos of Marge visiting the princesses and The Mouse, of Mona taking her first ride in a convertible in December with the top down (people who live on The Edge forget what a novelty this is for us Middle dwellers!) and of Minnie laughing and splashing in a whirlpool bathtub with bubbles so high they nearly covered her little head.  I have a mountain of laundry that might take all of 2010 to climb, a miniature replica of the Parthenon, a battery operated turkey that sings the "Chicken Dance" song, a thawed out soul that will dig into the cold winter that's left of 2010 with a renewed spirit, and so many more things that I can't even name.

Vacationing on The Edge has also apparently affected my ability to think clearly and post blogs with the correct date and time stamp, so the first 2 posts in a series that will continue for the month of January were up on the blog but posted under 2009 which it is obviously NOT and so I have unceremoniously removed them and will repost them tomorrow with some thoughts about the new year, the new decade, the new couch I'm looking for to help me get comfortable in 2010, and the new plan for what I will resolve to DO differently in the coming year.

Check back for the first 3 posts in my January series of how you might DO something differently to BE a more organized person this year.  Because what you DO is who you BE.  Happy New Year!  It's good to be back from The Edge!