Time to Recharge

As I wrote about recently, we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary on January 6th. I wanted us to take a nice trip somewhere, just the two of us, and be able to provide a bit of pampering to Kelly. I found a great deal for an all inclusive trip to Mexico and pulled the trigger on that in February of 2020. But, thanks to COVID, that trip is not going to come to fruition. Huge bummer!

As we contemplated what to do, Elise experienced a lengthy hospital stay in November and December, COVID cases spiked again in December, and "going away" just didn't seem like a good idea. So, we did what we always do........we adapted. We had a staycation instead. Our helper for Elise, Emma, came to stay for a couple of days and nights and we "got away" to a hotel here in town. It was not Mexico! But, it was pretty glorious nonetheless.

Honestly, I think it was exactly what we both needed. Familiar surroundings, no responsibilities, great food and drinks, and a jacuzzi tub! What else could a person want? More than ever I have REALLY been feeling the burden of responsibility. Elise requires assistance to do everything in her daily life. Even during the best of times that can be exhausting. COVID times have made that even more challenging for sure. Because of social distancing, the funky schedule of the university for students, and hospital stuff for Elise for we received much left help than we normally would. We have always employed great college kids that help us tremendously, and right now is no different. But, because of the things I mentioned above, she just hasn't been around much. Kelly is generally out of bed before the sun rises, all year around, seven days per week. I'm the "late shift" guy and take care of anything that happens before about 3:00 a.m. Kelly gets the early morning stuff. Certainly not ideal, but it works for us.This past weekend we were able to have three leisurely mornings in a row! Kelly wasn't out of bed before the sun came up and I had no middle of the night responsibilities. It was heavenly!

We didn't venture too far, but we got to go wherever we wanted WHEN we wanted to. That was a huge blessing for sure! I've had catered food from The Friendship House in nearby Wamego many times, but we never made it there to eat. We certainly enjoyed a nice leisurely breakfast there on Sunday. We followed that up with a visit to nearby Mount Mitchell outside of town and a trip to the Beecher Bible & Rifle Church. We walked about three miles of the trail at Mount Mitchell on that brisk morning and really enjoyed venturing through the prairie. We learned that we are not cut out to be settlers and walking for days in the prairie terrain to establish our home is not something that is in our makeup. I have profound respect for our ancestors so long ago. We finished up our time together with a warm cup of Chai Tea at the new Brothers Coffee here in MHK. We haven't been inside too many places to eat or drink anything in the past 10+ months, so it was a bit weird. But, we enjoyed it (and would recommend it) nonetheless. Enjoy a few of my pictures from our hike around Mount Mitchell and the surrounding area.