Re-entry

I think I liked the coastal woods (filled with pine needle strewn paths and lily pad filled ponds) that we rode our bikes around as much as I loved the beach.

I'm stealing my post title from Jane, as she seemed to coin our return to real-life best.

So as of late yesterday afternoon, we're officially "back", and I'm having a hard time balancing the desire to wallow in vacation mode with my impulse to jump right back into daily life. In less than 24 hours, I've completely unpacked, hit the market for staples, sorted through stacks of mail, tackled about a gazillion e-mails and managed to make it into the office early this morning to the firestorm of a project awaiting me. And I'm slogging through it all in the type of fuzzy daze that accompanies stepping into the sunlight after an afternoon matinee...

It's hard to adjust to a giant glaring computer screen and a windowless office after a week and a half of aimless sunny bike rides, ocean gazing while Millie napped peacefully on my chest under a giant beach umbrella and devouring vanilla ice cream every single day -- often for breakfast. (One morning we were jonesing so bad for our scoop, we actually waited outside the ice cream store for it to open.)

It's a bit disconcerting how present and grateful and aware we were on vacation and yet how swiftly we let ourselves dive back into the daily grind. It really was an amazing, lovely, delightful trip -- one of our best ever. I'll get more pictures up soon, just as soon as I defog a bit...