Heaven, I'm In Heaven . . .

Vacations come in all shapes and sizes. What some would consider heaven, another would consider quite the opposite. I've never had the yen to climb Mount Everest, but I would consider poking my nose into a volcano’s crater some day.

This month I had the pleasure of vacationing on top of a mountain in Witter, Arkansas. Where, you say? You heard me, Witter. The “town” consists of a post office. They have quite the nightlife. Cars buzz past at least once per hour. Well, maybe, on Friday nights. J

The purpose of my little trip was to haul thirteen teenagers and one adult to camp with me. We had an awesome time. Four to five hours of sleep each night. Head lice, sore throats, sibling fights, divas, teen love, stomachaches, one-hundred degree heat, rain, mud and personality clashes. Yup, that’s heaven alright.

Fifteen tired and cranky people crammed into one van for the seven-hour trip home was the icing on the cake. We managed to make it without killing, or losing, a single one! I can’t wait for next year.

Some of you are thinking right now, is she insane?  Yup, certifiable, and I’m okay with that. In spite of all the craziness that comes with kids and camp, I wouldn't miss it for the world. Getting to know those kids makes it all worthwhile. Seeing their lives changed as they learn to work as a group, trust each other, and open up to new friendships is phenomenal. They come back stronger, more assured, happier and with a new degree of freedom to be who God created them to be. That is awesome.

It was hard. I’ll admit it. I've had a lot of sleep to catch up on, but in the process, I came back with a new zest to write. Before the trip, I was stuck. I had no desire to write and no confidence in the direction it was going. I sat down last Sunday night and got started again. Yippee!

Vacations aren't always about rest and relaxation. Sometimes all it takes is change. I left burnt out on this whole author bit. I came back ready to wrestle my characters into submission. I've only managed to get a few hundred more words on to paper so far, but that’s okay. I know where I’m going now and that is awesome.

Next time you get in a writing rut, take a vacation. Even if all it consists of is a trip to Sonic for a banana split. Let your brain wind down and every worry melt right along with that ice cream. Savor every tidbit of pineapple, lick every drop of chocolate and memorize every piece of strawberry heaven. When you get home, your brain will be stress free and ready to work.