Back into the Swing

We just returned home last evening from a 10 day vacation to the north (Pennsylvania) and enjoyed some wonderful weather, time with family and friends, and both of our boys. It was not restful, but it was enjoyable. It seems that parenting never takes a vacation. Even with the help of family, additional grandparents, aunts, uncles, and surrogates, we found that our boys needed a great deal of attention. It isn't possible to just sit around and rest anymore. So, as the saying goes, we need a vacation from vacation. We're glad to return home to the familiar surroundings, but there is something familiar about our destination each time we're in Pittsburgh. It's not our immediate home, but it will always be "home", for what it's worth. Roots are there, friends are still there, and even though some new buildings go up and old ones fall down, the city is quite familiar to us.
The differences are the present place in life we find ourselves--while we were in PA, Kelly and I celebrated 7 years of our first date, which seems like yesterday and also so many life changes ago. We have been married over 5 years, have two children and some great learning in between. We are so grateful that our home will always be where we happen to be, yet we are also thankful for our past and the ways it has brought us into the present.