My Return to Reality

It has been a summer of adventure. A trip to Colorado, a road trip through California, a visit from my parents, and now I just got home from a week-long girl's trip. A couple of friends and I headed to Burning Man. I had never been before, and was a little nervous about the whole endeavor.... hot temperatures, dust storms, nowhere to buy food or water..... but it was amazing. It is a huge event, over 60,000 people, but I didn't witness one fight or any negative encounters. Everyone was just happy. And nice. And having a whole lot of fun.
There was amazing art everywhere, music galore, crazy costumes, and people gifting things left and right. And the scale of this temporary city was enormous. I was told that it was going to be big, but it was bigger than I could have imagined. We rode bikes out into what seemed like the middle of nowhere, and still found art and other folks wandering around. The camp that I stayed with had an incredible foam dome and a giant 360-degree swing (that I was too much of a whimp to ride). Despite the fact that I didn't know most of these folks, they welcomed me with open arms.
And, more than anything, it was nice to have some time away from the kids. As much as I love my kiddos, and as sad as I was to leave them (I did feel like backing out last minute because I felt nervous to go without them), I knew that some time away would be a good thing. The first couple days were hard, but then I settled into the routine of only having to be responsible for me, which was pretty darn nice. But, by the end of the week, I was missing them quite a bit, and was ready to be back home. So, all in all, it was a perfect end to an adventurous summer.
Finn starts school next week, and I start back at work a couple of weeks later. So for now, I am resettling into life in the real world, attempting to get us back on a schedule, and feeling lucky that I had a week of time all to myself.