What I Learned in Maine...

Last week, Ed and I took an almost-week-long vacation in Maine. It was a chance for us to travel, spend some time together, and just enjoy the quiet before our lives change once again in a few months. I'm not quite sure what I expected, other than what I just listed as reasons for us to go, but I learned something during this trip that I think I probably already knew, but became crystal clear while we were away.

I learned that Maine has A LOT of trees and is a huge wilderness area. Beautiful, especially since we caught it during peak fall colors, but almost overwhelming. We were both tired of trees by the end of our trip:)

I learned that it is not always as easy at one would think it would be to spot a moose in Maine. I have always wanted to see a moose in the wild...call me crazy, I just do. We spent 9 hours in this car one day, driving to what are suppose to be some prime moose gathering areas (picture on the left) and saw none, zip, zero moose. We did see a lot of beautiful trees, but no moose.

I learned that Acadia National Park is beautiful and that I still love National Parks and will continue my quest to see as many as I can. However, it was not one of my favorites and it made me miss some of my favorites, Zion and Glacier specifically. Do I sense some family trips to National Parks in the future???

I also learned that the coast of Maine is filled with beautiful harbors and cities. There are lobster places all over and blueberry goodies everywhere you look.


But most importantly I learned this:


I love the everyday routine of our lives...everything about it...where we are, what I am doing, and mostly, chosing to be at home with Sam-the little boy I love in a way that there are not words that could possibly even come close to describing it.


I missed Sam so much I could hardly stand it. So although we enjoyed the sights of Maine, and specifically Acadia National Park in Maine, I learned that right now in my life, being at home with my family is much more enjoyable than traveling the world, or escaping to somplace different. Our priorities have changed. Our three years in Italy were the most glorious honeymoon anyone could ever ask for. We had time alone together, we grew together, we traveled together and we just enjoyed being with each other. Now that we have a family, we still enjoy being together, but enjoy it in a different way. We love spending time together at home and really enjoy creating a home we both love to be in. We are excited to do projects around the house that will fit the growing needs of our family and love that we are in a spot that our kids will love to grow up in. We are happy right where we are at, and it feels great!