Time Away

Today is transition day.  Just like in triathlon....the time spent between two different things.  Ideally, it's quick and easy. Just like T1 and T2. Make it fast. Get in and get out.  I am tryyyying very hard to make this transition quick but my brain is hanging on to the past 5 days and I'm having a hard hard time letting go.  My husband and I just got back from a 6 day vacation, alone. We met someone there that asked us if our kids were there. When he heard they weren't he replied, "Ahhh yes, that's the difference between a trip and a vacation."  So true!  My boys are the light of my life, truly.  However, I would be lying if I didn't say that being the mom to 3 boys wasn't exhausting and challenging.  It is. It's hard. And quite often, I find myself beating my head against a wall trying to figure out how to be a better parent. Tomorrow! Tomorrow I will be a better Mom! I say that a lot. I am trying. But it's hard. Anyway, I think maybe, I hope, those are typical feelings for many parents.  The past few months have been a blur. Hectic to say the least. Loads of fun and lots of special memories but I was Wiped out. Mentally. Training has been easy since Kona. I can't pretend I needed any kind of respite from working out.  But I did need a full blown detox from life. And, lucky lucky me, I got it. I just feel incredibly lucky to have had this getaway.  You see, Mark had some meetings in Puerto Rico. I know I know, what the heck kind of meetings happen in Puerto Rico when your company is in Maine? He's on an executive board for a national group of contractors and they meet in 4 awesome places each year. I'm invited to tag along and attend a few beautiful social engagements but otherwise, I was on my own.  It was amaaaaaaaaazing. I had the best time. It was mellow and quiet and all in the hot sunshine. I was catered to and fed delicious food.  I slept in, watched movies in bed, drank coffee on a deck and had frozen grapes poolside every day at 1:00. I was totally spoiled. And I loved it. Mark and I had hours and hours of quiet time together and that was perfect. Neither of us knew just how much we needed that.  I felt very lucky and enjoyed the time to the fullest.  Yesterday, was my birthday. I started the day with a run in the super hot sun and while I felt incredibly bad running ( ha...yeah that's what I get !), I was so happy. I ran by the ocean and felt the hot sun on my face. Then I got back to the hotel, called the kids and told them we were on our way. The day was spent travelling but by 9 p.m. I was back with my 3 guys. Pretty close to a perfect birthday really.  Right now, those same kiddos are attempting to make their first Birthday cake without Any help.  I guess my diet will start tomorrow. 

Getting back into real life has been kind of sluggish today. I didn't want to get up at 6:00. The house is somehow a mess even though none of us have been here for a  week.  Of course, we had no food and loads of laundry need to get done. But all that aside, my biggest problem has been my brain. it is SHUT OFF! I'm having a little trouble turning it back on. My mind keeps wandering to that cushy lounge chair I sat in for hours and hours each day last week.  sigh...... Poor me. haha..... You know what helped ?? It's no surprise but.... I got myself moving again. I hopped on that dusty trainer and busted out an hour on the bike. There. I'm back. I can focus again and I'm not daydreaming quite as much as I was this morning. I'll start tomorrow with a super early swim, I'll get a lot of work done and NO MORE excuse that it's "Christmas, Thanksgiving, new Year's, Vacation,  or my Birthday" so    of course I'll have that to eat mode. I'm ready! 2012 is here and I'm ready to make it awesome.  One more Puerto Rico burst here... a few pictures from my vacation!

from our room.....loooking out onto the golf course.

Getting ready for a run on day 1

 The main Plantation house....

My poolside lunch...yummy greek salad that I ate nearly every day.

 Crazy huge iguanas all over the place. I encountered the 1st one on a run... scared me JUST a bit when I saw it on the path in front of me.

 Giant iguana crawled right under my seat, across the deck and Into the pool!?

 Mark... dressed up and looking handsome for dinner with me!

 Where I spent most of my day.

At an AGC function...they even had a cake for me.

 looking from the pool out towards the ocean.

 Dinner our last night was out on a lawn, under a full moon.

These boardwalks surrounded the property.

our casa