going home

First, I just want to say thank you for all the kind wishes yesterday.  I really appreciated each one! 

Taking a trip with the littles, but without Brian, can leave me anxious and feeling like I'm missing my right hand.  I had a lot of anxiety over my quick trip home, but of course it went fine.  For one thing, I had both my parents AND inlaws to help out once I was there!  And luckily my kiddos love to spend time at both homes. 

After a very very successful Sunday morning at mass(!) my mom and I took the littles outside to enjoy the sunshine.  I feel so nostalgic when I go home, and in some ways I feel like I've walked through time to be there.  And the things that I liked best about my parent's home are the same things my own littles like.  A bouncy suspension bridge that leads to a gazebo in the woods.  A hobby pond with fish and frogs.  Watching the little stream trickle under the bridge.  Watching the birds eat and make homes amid the green.  It's idyllic and beautiful. 

I always feel renewed and refreshed after I go home.  What is it about visiting our past that gives us a little more strength and backbone for the future?