As I mentioned last week, the past ten days were a staycation, which is to say we stayed home, for the most part, and didn't work, for the most part. (And for any of you who didn't check in last week, I highly recommend scrolling through last week's posts–four excellent reflections on different aspects of adoption by four beautiful writers and friends. It's wonderful to go away for a week and think that the quality of this blog went up!)

So what was lost during those days away?

Well, hours and hours and hours of productivity. According to gmail, I have "about" 196 messages (I'm so confused as to why gmail can't count messages once they pass a certain threshold). And that's after deleting dozens that I didn't need to read. I have a stack of mail and a long list of to-dos. We're moving back to New Jersey, and everything remains unpacked. And of course I have that book coming out in a few weeks, and I missed out on any number of opportunities to publicize and promote.

I lost touch with current events and with my not-so-rigorous exercise routine.

We also lost a white noise machine, a car phone charger, two library books, and a small portion of our Swagger Wagon's door.

You know what's coming–what was lost pales in comparison to what was gained: the time with our extended family, including three of our children's great-grandparents . . . celebrating William's third birthday . . .

a trip to New Haven by train . . .

a boat ride with family . . .

swimming lessons that culminated in Penny jumping in and swimming all by herself to the "island" a few yards away . . . a night of uninterrupted sleep when my aunt and uncle and cousin took ALL THREE CHILDREN and gave us a gift certificate to a bed and breakfast in Beacon Hill . . . the sounds of happy Penny and William who spent two more nights away from us, with activities that included riding a pony, jumping in the pool, petting a skunk, sleeping outside in a tent, and digging up potatoes before cooking them for breakfast . . . And what just might be Marilee's first word, spoken with gusto, "Dada!"

We're all a little weary. The decibel level in our house was up this morning, and no one slept well last night. The packing awaits as does the list of tasks and writing deadlines and emails. But we're grateful for a week together. And we're grateful to be a family