Mini-Break

Do you ever just feel a little....frayed...for lack of a better word?  Nothing bad is happening. There is no major crisis.  All is well.  It's just hard work, this thing we call living.  It's relentless.  Sometimes I feel a little frayed around the edges, and I need to take a break to play, pray, and reconnect with my partner.    

Last fall, I nabbed a Groupon for the Lodge at Suttle Lake for the Wise and Bearded One and me.  I had a brief moment when I forgot  that we had a child and booked us into the adults-only main Lodge.  Wups!!!  Fortunately, we have several adopted "aunties" here in Portland who were happy (or at least pretended they were) to hang out with the Sprout for the weekend.

The Sprout was ecstatic to have her first sleep over with her great friends, T and R.  They are the Super Sitter's children, and the Sprout has claimed them as her brother and sister.  More adopted family.  It's what you do when your biological family lives thousands of miles away.  Although not as ecstatic as the Sprout, I wasn't anxious to leave her because I knew she was in her most familiar and comfortable places--the Super Sitter's house Friday night and then our own house Saturday night with the Housemate and the Little Housemate. She did great, and is already planning her next sleep over.

The Lodge at Suttle Lake did not disappoint.  Tucked in the midst of the Cascade range, surrounded by jagged peaks, and recently covered with two feet of snow, it was perfect for winter hiking and snowshoeing.  The Lodge was cozy and welcoming.  And the wi-fi and wine in the Great Room gave us a nice place to wind down every afternoon before dinner.  It's just up the road from Sisters, Oregon, one of my favorite little western towns with a great coffee shop, a quilt shop, some bookstores and restaurants.  What more could you want, really?

It was just the mini-break we needed to play, read, and refresh for the next round of busy-ness.

P.S. Please ignore the hat head.