A time to roll, a time to rest (Week 11)

Before I start with this week’s update, I just have to take a minute and acknowledge the crazy number of COVID cases that are growing exponentially back in our Wisconsin homeland. My dear neighbors, friends and family, you are all in my prayers, and may God keep you and your loved ones healthy and safe!!!

When we were talking this summer about embarking on this #2020LemonadeTour, my concern was that Tony and I would run into COVID along our travels. That we would be sick and laid up in a hotel room somewhere, not able to drive or take care of the girls, etc.… I didn’t know how to process the fear of contracting a mysterious and unpredictable disease far from home, or what that would do emotionally to our caring and concerned loved ones back home. Now that I’m far from home (and thus far completely healthy, praise God!), I don’t know how to process the fear that someone I love will contract this mysterious and unpredictable disease while I am far away! GAH! (For the record, the cases here in South Carolina are extremely low when compared to Wisconsin. We wear our masks all the time, even at yoga. A first for us was receiving communion on Sunday from behind a Plexiglas shield! Such crazy times!)

Also, I’ve been banking on the fact that we’ll get to reconnect with all our friends and family when we fly home in a few weeks to celebrate the holidays. We miss our loved ones, of course, but the absence has been tolerable under the knowledge that we will be going home in a month and celebrating with everyone at the end of December. Not knowing whether or even if that should happen has put my already anxious self in a state of near hyperventilation when planning our Christmas travels. Thank God for Tony, who has a much more level head in all of this! The calm to my chaos with all things COVID-related, he constantly reminds me that these “what if?” scenarios are completely out of our hands; that all we can do is trust in our Lord and live for today. Whew. Love that man,

Now for your regularly scheduled blog post: Some geographic locations demand that you give them your energy, just as payment for being there. Take New York City, for instance—the city that never sleeps. It keeps its lights on 24/7, and where does it get the energy to power those lights? From the souls of the people who live, work and visit there! The same is true for Bangkok, Thailand. I remember feeling so drained—like I needed a vacation after taking a vacation there. (Exhaustion = not just from jet lag.)

On the opposite end of the energy spectrum, we have quiet little burgs like Beaufort, South Carolina, where the pace of life moves at the speed of a Southern drawl. I’m not saying there’s a lack of things to do here—far from it. I just feel like we’ve landed in a place that doesn’t care whether we go to the beach, wander quaint downtown streets or sit on the patio with a thick book and a glass of sweet tea.

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Charleston was different. There I wanted to see all the historic mansions and plantations, check out the waterfront, eat all the seafood. (We came pretty darn close to accomplishing that third goal!) On Folly Island, even when we weren’t hosting guests, I always felt like I was missing something on a checklist if I sat too long in one place. Beautiful Beaufort has given us the gift of time to relax, recharge and return to an almost “normal” state of being. We’ve gone for long walks under Spanish moss trees, watched old movies, played games as a family. We even finally used the tennis rackets that we’ve been hauling around for months, and the girls are teaching themselves to knit via YouTube tutorials.

The sweet life: We celebrated my birthday by going out for dinner with the kids, and Tony had the entire restaurant sing to me. They also purchased for me a package of yoga classes at a nearby studio; it has never felt so good—so blissfully “normal”—to unroll my mat and stretch and move and breathe.

At our previous locations, a good chunk of my time was spent researching restaurants, looking for museums/aquariums/historic points of interest or just scanning TripAdvisor for recommendations of things to do. I’ve hardly done any of that here in Beaufort, because just being still and spending time with my family is more than enough activity for me right now. I’m putting together my Christmas shopping list and trying to “shop local,” either from here or at home. What a fun challenge to avoid Amazon! Our Southern-inspired Thanksgiving dinner menu has gotten quite out of control. (Thanks, girls!) To incorporate all their suggestions, we are going to have to spread this meal out over several days. Again, thank God for stretchy pants.

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We did go enjoy the beach on Sunday and saw the lighthouse at Hunting Island State Park. Sharks teeth are always a highlight, but this time had the most fun with our bocce game (even though Tony and I lost). Temps are finally starting to feel like fall; we had to turn the furnace on for the first time this week, and it’s definitely weird to be wearing long sleeves and long pants again.

I’m so grateful to all of you who reached out with birthday wishes—my 44^th will be one that I’ll never forget! My birthday wish is for this pandemic to end so that we can all celebrate the holidays together in person; I promise to do whatever I can to make that happen!