Did I Mention I'm Lucky?

These are the things we did on our vacation, in no particular order:
-drank some alcoholic beverages (but just a few... million)
-lounged by the pool
-swam in the sea
-danced on the sand with abandon
-ate some pretty damn good food, from sushi to tapas to late night room service nachos served on the balcony
-watched the sunrise
-survived the flea market
-went to Zumba class (a first for me)
-got massages (about half of us, I was already too chilled out)
-went to the hospital (long story - and he was just fine)
-celebrated the end of the seemingly endless election season (hooray for so many reasons! And I'm so proud of you, state of Maine!)
-read a little
-relaxed a lot
-made copious lists of "Resort World Problems" (such as, "when you can't see the ocean from your shower because you've fogged up the window from all the steam jets")
-slept as much as possible (shocking to nobody: our body clocks had most of us up too early for our own liking, but we appreciated the option to wake up on our terms)
-spent some serious quality time (I've not had a solid week with Mike since, probably, last time we took a vacation like this).

These are the things we didn't do:
-change any diapers
-hear the "Thomas and Friends" theme song once (except in our heads, where it lives permanently)
-have to be responsible for anyone but our own selves.

One more thing that six of the eight of us did:
-missed our kids like crazy, despite the diapers and midnight wakings and grating theme songs that come with the territory. And you know, it's good to miss your kids sometimes. It reminds you why you wanted to have them in the first place.

I know for a fact (aka Skype dates) that HR didn't miss us at all. He was too busy being spoiled by his aunt and uncle and cousins. He went to Gymboree and two different farms. He was showered with attention from preteen girls, which is sort of his raison d'etre. And he learned how to sleep through the night until at least seven. In retrospect, I left a changeling behind, and he changed back when we retrieved him on Saturday. But in all seriousness, it was an awesome experience for our family, and showed us that even if he's not completely cognizant of time and presence and absence and whatnot, our son is secure in that, when we leave him, we'll come back. I can never thank Mike's brother and his wife and their kids enough for being such true and loving sitters. Our boy was ready to come home with us when it was time, but he had a blast and obviously felt very safe and comfortable in their care, and it was great bonding for all of them.

The details of what we did, as listed above, are unimportant to anyone who wasn't there. Who cares about other people's vacations? I just have to go on record saying that we had the time of our lives, and it was due not only to the location or the sense of freedom, but also to the perfect alchemy of those in attendance. Mike and I had always wanted to revisit this resort since we went there five years ago, and even though we're quite good at being entertained in each other's company, we both thought, what a great set-up for a group of friends. And when we decided to use Mike's big birthday as an excuse to go, we started canvassing. The trip was open to anyone, there was never a formal invitation, but a week at a not-cheap resort was really a lot to ask of people so when a few couples showed interest (with the last minute addition of my sister and her husband, who I consider friends), we went ahead and booked. And I can't imagine a better outcome.

Partly this is due to our shared interest in being slothly and gluttonous and prone to rocking out at any chance. I'm not the only graduate of Fun School. But everyone was so go-with-the-flow, even if it goes against everyday personality type. Nobody was too sensitive about things or felt excluded, nor did anyone try to exclude. We did a lot of things as a group, but not everything. And it was cool, everyone was just cool. It was everyone's vacation, and everyone was free to do what they wanted. I would love to do this again, with the same group and/or with others (I feel like my brother and dad should have the chance experience the beauty of an all-inclusive at least once). But if I never get a chance again, I'll always look back at that week in the sun as one of the most fun of my life. Beautiful place, beautiful time, beautiful people. All the love.

This song is played as hell, but there's a reason I'm linking it.