It certainly wasn’t a perfect trip. Things rarely go as planned, and that’s ok. While I am saddened by the way a few things turned out, and I fear a couple relationships may have officially come to an unexpected close, this trip was exactly what I needed.

Not just a respite from work (this being my first vacation since August of 2012) but a much needed re-charging of the emotional batteries. With all the bad news this year in OKC, the friends and relative diagnosed with cancer, the friends who died or were murdered, and of course the death of my father in January, I needed the fellowship of my friends; those whom supported me through it all, and helped me face all those trials. I was also able to spend some quality time with my mother, and those are memories I’ll treasure forever.

No, it wasn’t a perfect trip by any stretch. But it sure was exactly what the doctor ordered.