Earlier this week, DH and I headed out for our annual get-away. I don’t know if words can do justice to how amazing that was! To all you folks out there, listen up: just do it. Pick a day, any day, (happened to have been our anniversary, but no matter!) and just go.

So much of the last year passed in a dizzying series of ups and downs, so much has changed since our last get-away, just one short / long year ago. Sitting on the deck, overlooking the ocean, that all sort of faded away. Not because it wasn’t relevant or real, and not because the challenge is over. It’s hard to explain why, but somehow in the calm there was a sort of peace, a certain acceptance that settled the tumult of these past few months.

We spent two days soaking it in. We laugh when people ask us what we did, because in truth, we did nothing. Granted, we were in a beautiful vacation spot, with luxury amenities and all, but that’s about it. We just sat, thought, and enjoyed each other, in a quiet sort of way that we haven’t have had in too long. Putting a pause on our race allowed us to reframe our perspective with clarity, to see the forest for the trees once again.

Apparently, we recharged just in time. Shortly after we got back, we got news we were hoping not to hear. I waited for that wham, that push that would send me reeling back to reality, as has happened so many times before. It never came. Surprisingly, we were okay – not thrilled, not even happy, but very okay.

Somehow, our mini escape allowed us to refocus. We have each other, we’re doing what we can. Life is rich and beautiful when we choose to zone in on the gifts we receive (in truth, we all receive too many to count!) and realize that that, and anything beyond that, is entirely in His hands. It may not have been the grand finale we anticipated, but we’ve gained so much more.

It’s been a trying but wonderful year. Clearly, He’s been carrying us throughout. Moving forward, we can only hope for more of the same, only this time with the kind of shefa bracha we can embrace with full hearts.