Some R and R

You may have noticed that it's been awhile since I've posted anything. Well, there's a good reason for that, I spent the last two weeks on vacation. It was a much needed vacation. When I went to record the vacation days spent, I realized that I had enough days left over from last fiscal year to cover these past two weeks (our fiscal year begins July 1). That's likely one of the reasons I needed a vacation so badly. To be very honest, I've spent the last two months feeling like I'm wandering around in an exhausted, blind fog. By the end of the first week of R and R however, that fog had pretty much lifted.

We spent most of the time at my parent's farm in Southeast Iowa. My mom loved having Dawson around and gladly took care of him when she wasn't working. This allowed me to do things like help dad pick sweet corn, cruise around the farm on the four wheeler, sleep in and continue working on the 1200 page Rise and Fall of the Third Reich that I've been reading most of this year.



When we weren't hanging out in the middle of Iowa cornfields, we were hanging out in the middle of Chicago skyscrapers. While Dawson stayed with Grandma and Grandpa, we snuck over to Chicago for three days. Since we'd been to Chicago in 05, we bypassed the touristy parts like the museums and spent our time shopping (Erin did the shopping), walking and eating in the various windy city neighborhoods and relaxing in the parks along the lakefront. Spome of our explorations took us to Wriggleyville, Old Town, Bucktown, Lincoln Park, Little Italy, Grant Park and Millennium Park. Strolling through quit old neighborhoods with their classic homes, huge trees and cool breezes while still in sight of the downtown skyline was a refreshing experience.

I did miss out on a chance to experience history, however. On Thursday morning, we were having breakfast at this nice little place near our hotel and discussing our trip home when the impulse to stay a bit longer and catch an afternoon White Sox game at "the Cell" entered my mind. I decided against it however, because we were anxious to get home and see Dawson. It was amazing how much we missed him. Well, that afternoon at "the Cell", Mark Buehrle decided to throw the 18th perfect game in MLB history. Bummer for me.

Last Wednesday afternoon was also a highlight of the two weeks. I spent that afternoon sitting in a lawn chair, just inside the shade of the barn, with just my bible, a pen and a journal. It was a wonderful time to catch up with an old Friend whose voice and direction I've had a hard time hearing lately. Those hours also went a long way to bring me back where I need to be as a leader and Christ-follower.

We took some great pictures but I'm too lazy to post them. You can see them here.