We live in the mountains or rather the foothills of the Rockies at 5500 feet. After living here for awhile I’ve started to feel like I live at sea level and that being in the mountains requires 5,000 more feet in elevation. So, we went to the mountains.

We went to the mountains the week before Thanksgiving and had ourselves a glorious time! A friend graciously offered us her home in the mountains- stunning views, trails, meadows, wildlife and peace all around.  No one. No TV. No internet. No phones. After two weeks of being ill, followed by a an overly booked weekend of potlucks and birthday parties (4) and family visiting, I couldn’t have planned the timing of this retreat ANY better.

(Above) This was the second sight of my first morning. First was Arlene’s sweet face beside me

The roses of our trip: watching coyotes walk across the meadow, hiking in wild woods, following tracks in the snow, discovering a bird “haven” in the forest, snowshoeing, sledding, waking up at night to admire the starry sky, beautiful dinners that began with hand holding all around, cooking  and baking (gluten-free cookies!) together in the kitchen, the howling wind, playing games, discovering “extra” time throughout our week– to read, play, take another walk…to just be.

There was a beautiful, seamless rhythm to the week- the girls created the most imaginative games and “worlds” together, were truly thrilled to head out into the woods for hours every day–even with gusts of 50-70mph one day! Stephen and I had wonderful talks together, truly enjoying one another without distraction and we totally geeked out reading natural science books. We diagramed the mountain ranges and various rivers and the ecosystems, we flipped through bird books to identify that unusual yellow bird (grosbeak) that came to our ledge.

The beauty and peace begins to seep into you. You begin to listen to your body a little more closely. You sigh more deeply.  You smile a lot more. I talk less –maybe an effect of the altitude? 😉 That’s the case for me. When I moved from NYC to upstate New York for college, I felt it. My blood pressure decreased, my awe increased.

We lose ourselves and rediscover ourselves. The girls did it and so did we.