Shenandoah Vacation - Part 1

I'm sure you've heard the phrase, "What goes around comes around"? It seems to refer to the bad stuff people do to others coming back to them at some point. I like to think it also applies to the good stuff.

See, when we bought our house last year, the small yard came with a big above-ground pool, that we didn't want. The previous owner begged us to give it a chance, and we did last summer, but we just didn't have the time or money or yard for that pool. This spring we decided to get rid of it.

To make a long story short (or shorter), we decided to give it away for free to a member of the Mom's Club that I belong to. All they had to do was take it down, and haul it away. The whole idea was that Jim and I wouldn't have to deal with it. But, somehow, Jim ended up out in the yard on numerous occasions, using OUR power tools to help the husband dismantle it, and I became very cranky. "A free pool and free labor?! COME ON!!", the ranter ranted.

Until about a month later, when I sent out a mass email to the Mom's Club again, this time asking for ideas for places JIm and I could go for our anniversary. The mom who took the pool emailed back that they own a timeshare at a resort in Virginia, and since "they owe us", they could get us a really good deal on a week's stay. And, that is how it "came back around", and how the ranter became the raver.

We've always been beach people, choosing to always vacation near sand and surf. But, now I understand the beckoning call of the mountains. Their beauty inspires and their vastness humbles. You find your muscles relaxing with each exhaled breath. You feel alive and rejuvenated.

I think it is important for all of us to occasionally be in a place that reminds us that the world is beautiful. The problem with that, though, (for me at least), is that I'm always left wanting more. I get sad thinking about all the places I will never get to go, all the sights I will never get to see, but I am so grateful that I got to see the Shenandoah Mountains. And, to them I say, "I hope that someday we "come back around"".

*Pictures should be up by Thursday!