That's how long it's been since The Oracle and I have been able to get away for even a simple overnight.
Oh wait - The Oracle. I must introduce him!
The Oracle - is my husband. We've been married for nearly 32 years (!!!) and he factors into every aspect of my life. We call him The Oracle because, well, if you have a question about anything - he'll just instinctively know the answer.
This can be on subjects about which he is intimately familiar (computer systems analysis, corporate IT infrastructure, the nuance between a tenor and alto saxophone or the merits of using garlic powder on everything); or it can be about something you don't think he's heard of or knows about and yet - he somehow manages to pull out the correct answer every single time.
It's annoying.
And I love him anyway.
So - where was I? Oh yes, getting away.
Seven months in this our crazy life - is a long time to go without packing a suitcase and heading out to - somewhere, anywhere. Add in the historic winter we just endured and it's all been a bit - much.
This barren landscape of vacationing has finally - ! - come to an end. For we are now ensconced in a lovely, cozy home nestled in the foothills of the White Mountains (on the Vermont side). In fact as I type this, my view is of Mount Washington. Which can look like this first thing in the morning:
We are incredibly blessed to be here. The house is a future retirement destination that is owned by dear friends - and they generously let their closest friends use the house...
...for free.
That's right my peeps - we are here for 5 glorious days at no cost. Well, aside from the gas to get here and home and food expenses.
Mere trifles my darlings, mere trifles.
For this is a mystical & magical place; you feel it in the energy as soon as you walk in the door and pass through the mudroom to the living room with the cathedral ceiling. Then you look out at the expanse of back deck, yard and beyond to the mountains...and you can feel the stresses of life, the detritus of the demands of corporate america...just fade away.
You can literally feel your soul healing. A good night's sleep - which is inevitable in the crisp mountain air that your lungs can never seem to get enough of - and the next morning you awaken feeling like the world that sat so firmly on your shoulders just a few hours ago has - shifted.
Not in small ways...oh no. In ways that you firmly believe total strangers will notice. Something deep within you changes; the blowing of the leaves on the trees is enough to make you stop what you are doing and just watch them - entranced by their delicate, fairy-like movements.
Leaves. Fairy-like movements. I sound like a proper whacko and you know what - I'm totally and utterly OK with that.
Because here - in the Northeast Kingdom of this glorious state called Vermont - all things are possible and indeed, feel normal.
It is - just 4 short hours by car - a true vacation. A place to just sit and...be.
All images are the property of Reflections - Photography by Kris Payant and can be found in my online portfolio at www.krispayant.com.
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