back safe, home again [june 23]

Row 1: Parthenon | Greek flag flying | Ionian Sea; Row 2: Our hotel | Dinner at the port of Katakolon, Greece | Cal swimming; Row 3: Olympia | Cal; Row 4: Colosseum | Sorrento | Amalfi Coast; Row 5: Positano | Sweet Violet

Well, we made it home. Got in last week and have been in recovery mode ever since. The trip was fabulous, sublime and surreal on so many levels. It was also distracting, exhausting and sad.

As so many of you know by now, we lost our sweet Violet while we were gone, and I can't pretend that her death didn't impact much of the trip for me once we heard the news. Coming home to her absence has been, if anything, bewildering, like getting bad news twice. Cal and I have been recuperating and trying to heal our hearts on a steady diet of The West Wing and Smartpop popcorn (mixing the white cheddar with the kettle corn has turned out to be our best decision all week). He's worried about me, but I'm fine. Just sad, and I'd like the opportunity to simply be so.

So yes, we're home. The trip feels like a beautiful blur, and though I took many photos and will start to dismantle my memory card and share them here soon, I feel like I lost my photography mojo somewhere along the way. It felt like there was little connection to the pictures I've been taking, and now that we're back, I haven't felt inclined to pick up my camera much at all. Hoping that changes soon.

When I come home from a trip, I usually feel energized in my space and anxious to tackle my world with the new-found knowledge our travels have given me. Rejuvenated and ready to start new rituals. This time, for a lot of reasons, I feel exhausted and achy, and, as I said, bewildered. The other dogs are restless and agitated, but seem okay. Still, it's very quiet in the house without her.

And to all of you who reached out to us through messages on Facebook and Instagram, through notes and texts, how can I ever thank you enough? How can I ever tell you what your kind and thoughtful words meant to me. We read them all, each and everyone, reaching across so many miles. Thank you, thank you, and thank you again. I've missed you all, and I'm anxious to "see" you again and to "hear" your voices around me. What's been happening lately? X

take a break {still + life}

As you read this, we're finishing our last-minute flurry of packing and gearing up to head to the airport. The house sitter is waiting in the wings, and even though our girls love him, well. They're anxious. Violet wants to see the Parthenon, and she hasn't yet forgiven us for not taking her along. She's huffy.

I've talked often here of my love of Greece and of our time there. I've talked about it on other people's blogs too (I'm looking at you, Miss ilikewantneed.), so the fact that we get to return, and are able to with any regularity is a great joy to me. Coming home. What's more lovely than returning to places that are beloved and familiar, and made more special because we see them rarely. That's how I feel.

Any time we travel to Europe for a conference of Neel's we tack on some time just for us. Traveling to Crete and Santorini on our last trip to Greece (gah, was it really seven years ago!), adding extra days in Budapest when we were in Hungary, and last year meeting Neel in London to spend time with lovely Annie. This year is no different, but it's special too.

This year, after Neel's conference, we're headed to Rome where we'll meet my dad and spend a few days there and then a few days on the Amalfi coast. And this is likely why Violet is angry with us. She wanted to see Pompeii. It's a dream-come-true for Neel, and for my budding Latin scholar as well. Let's face it, none of us can wait.

This trip is coming at a good time for me, I think. I've thought a lot about travel and how it changes us. How our routines change and how to incorporate those changes at home. There a sweeping huge benefits to travel, and I'm so glad we're able to raise our son with a love of travel and an appreciation of other cultures. But it's the smaller benefits that sometimes have the most impact. Learning you like olives at breakfast. Sharing the ritual of tea time, mugs spread across the table. Watching the late light play across the ceiling of your apartment as the clink and rustle of dinner preparation calls out below. I'm always wondering how I can get those routines to better translate at home. If I have any insight, I'll let you know.

I think it's a good time to take a media break as well. My online life has felt, in some places, prickly and uncomfortable of late. Not this space; this space means the world to me, and having you come here and connect with me at spl enriches my life more than I have words for. But I've been quietly watching things get prickly in other areas of my life, and I'm not liking it so much. So I think the break will be good. Recharge some of the things that need to be charged. And enjoy my family. That's the best. And the olives. And the feta. And the wine.

I'm sure I'll still be hanging out on Instagram, as wifi allows, so keep an eye out for me there. I know I won't be able to wait to see you all when I get back. XO