Break from the Norm...

Oh that's right.  I have a blog.  One where I usually post updates and photos and thoughts and the occasional musing or seven.

Right.

One of the worst things about a return from a vacation - aside from the obvious forced departure from whatever paradise you'd escaped to and a return to the mundane day to day - is how quickly and utterly far away that very recent vacation can feel.

I plunked my bags down upon my return from Oz just about two weeks ago and feel I have been on the move ever since.  I've yet to go through all of my 1,400 + photos (and long time readers will recall I am usually the queen of lightening fast best-of slide shows) and I'm not even completely unpacked!  Jet-lag kicked me to the curb, which was the MOST fun, particularly when I found myself lying in bed WIDE AWAKE at 3am and then, later, very close to nodding off at an abnormal sleeping hour, such as 5pm.  My very first day back in Boston, as I kicked off the daily grind once again, I stopped at my local Dunkin Donuts.  I stood in line with the rest of the customers, ordered my drink, handed over my debit card (as I had a wallet filled only with Australian dollars), took my receipt and card back...and then walked directly out of the store.  Without my coffee.  Luckily, a very kind employee chased me down the steps as I was making my way underground to the T.  "Your coffee!  Your coffee!" she cried.

So...that was jet lag, in a nutshell.

(Also, I should add that I was utterly spoiled by Australian coffee as it is far superior to the stuff we serve up here in the States.  Once I finally had a sip of that nearly left on the counter Dunkin coffee, I was amazed at how I'd ever found the stuff to be any good.)

(I mean, let's not get carried away.  I'm still drinking it daily...but the Aussies handle their java better than anyone else I know.  As do the French.  And the Italians.)

Anyway.

Last week I made it down to New Jersey for the long 4th of July holiday which was blissful.  Hot as all get out, thanks to a seemingly never-ending heat wave, but wonderful all the same.  There was time with both immediate and extended family, delicious food, plenty of pool time, ice cream, and grilling, and fresh NJ blueberries eaten warm right out of the carton.  I have always loved the 4th of July; it is without question my favorite holiday for all of the above reasons and more.  This year, the holiday felt particularly special as I got the chance - however fleeting it was - to get back to my hometown, to relive some of my favorite summery moments like driving to the ice cream stand along the highway with my Mom, our hair still went from the pool, that I remember from childhood.   For four days straight I woke up and slipped into my bathing suit almost immediately, piled my hair into a top knot on my head, and alternated between visiting the pool or our local farms with my parents.  I went to sleep still smelling of suntan lotion and chlorine, my skin warm from the sun, which, in my humble opinion, is really one of the most perfect gifts that summertime gives us year after year.