Sweet Home Alabama Part One

“Work six days. The seventh day is a Sabbath, a day of total and complete rest, a sacred assembly. Don’t do any work. Wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to God.” Leviticus 23:3 (The Message)

The countdown clock is ticking. As soon as lunches are done at his work, husband is coming home and we are headed out of town on vacation. On the one hand, it seems surreal; on the other, June has been a very long month. On this trip, we are celebrating our thirtieth wedding anniversary. For several years, we had hoped to go to Alaska for two weeks, but the economy dictated a change. So, we are going to Alabama for one week instead! I laugh every time I think about it. To show you what a small world this is, we found our vacation location via pictures on a friend’s blog, http://edificerex.blogspot.com/ and are going to the Little River Canyon Preserve in northeast Alabama. It looks like a beautiful place with mountains, waterfalls, a river and hiking trails. There is even the studio of a famous glass blower nearby. We also found the cabin on the internet. It is right on the rim of the canyon with 55 acres and its own waterfall. Plus the owners are massage therapists so by our anniversary, we will be nice and relaxed and mellow. The last few days its been rush from one thing to another as I go through my compulsive ritual of finishing things that have been unfinished for years and cleaning everything. I picked up the dry-cleaning that waited at the laundry for three weeks, mailed some packages that sat ready for the post office and cleaned out the silverware drawer. Just in case, something happens and I don’t come back you know. I even wrote out directions for my funeral. I am a sick woman. Not physically though I’m still wrestling with my blood pressure, but mentally. Why else would I leave clear instructions and lesson plans for a coworker on a class I am to teach when I return and say, “This is in case I don’t make it back.” Well, there is that motorcycle loaded in the back of the truck and river canyon drives. My house is now tidy, the laundry baskets are empty, the truck is loaded and I all need is my husband of thirty years to come home. While we are in Alabama, we plan to get together with the man who married us and his wife. He was our youth pastor in the mid 1970s and made such an impact on husband that youngest son is named after him. I also hope to catch up with my blogging pal. But, mostly, we will relax, ride the canyon and hike around the property where we are staying. We may venture out to Chattanooga one day and go exploring. And then, there are those massages… I’m thankful for opportunities to rest and recover. God knew that we would need such times and commanded us to take the time to rest. I ought to do it more often, not just once or twice a year. But, this is a start. More to come.