A little shadow was lingering on the final hours of our special moms getaway, caused by the fact that it was nearly over and we were soon to return to our reality.
Don't get me wrong. We love our lives - all the special stuff included. We were longing for our sweet children within a couple hours of being gone. But to escape our special life gave us a glimpse at what other people feel on an everyday basis.
And that was bittersweet.
It is almost easier to keep doing the hard stuff, not knowing what you are missing out on or what life feels like without the weight on your shoulders. To get a taste of a stress free day gives us a comparison point to how extremely difficult our daily lives are - and comparisons aren't healthy.
As my plane was taking off to return home I had a brief flashback, remembering the many cross country flights I took as a college student. I couldn't help but to compare that carefree feeling I had in my early 20's, with a degree of shock, to how I got "here". How did I get to be a grownup, flying home to a crazy life filled with 5 children and a house full of wheelchairs?
I lay the side of my head against the window, trying not to feel overwhelmed at what I was returning home to. The sunshine was pouring in the window onto my face and the white puffy clouds that surrounded the plane were breathtaking.
I had a feeling at that very moment, straight from Heaven to my core, that my life is exactly as it was intended to be.
There is no more comforting feeling that could have come to me at that moment, or at any moment, than to know that this is the life I am supposed to be living.
It wasn't the amazing getaway with some girlfriends that had the most impact on me this past weekend. It was a simple, but powerful lesson I learned at 33,000 feet.