#FloridaProblems

My face hurts from smiling so much.

I'm not the only one with permasmile!

They kinda like the beach. Just a little bit.

 My car, the carseats, the BOB, the bottom of my bathtub...all are currently sporting a fine layer of grayish/beige sand.

A certain someone can't get enough of the sand.

The Farmers' Market

My fingers are stained orange from juicing fresh oranges every morning.

$24 worth of produce...the picture doesn't do the sheer amount of food justice here.

Addie refuses to leave the house without her swimsuit under her clothes, just in case we end up at the beach.

Because ONE TIME she had to wear her clothes and she was not a big fan...

 On Wednesday night, I decide to give the apartment a thorough cleaning the following day, as the forecast calls for chilly weather and rain. On Thursday it is actually 75, sunny, and gorgeous. I go running with my friend instead. I don't think I can be expected to clean in this kind of weather.

Sounds like I have some Florida problems. And I love that.

I have to credit my friend Melissa (also a temporary Florida resident) with the hashtag, and ultimately, the title of this post. She coined the term when she accidentally forgot to put sunscreen on and got an interesting crisscross racerback sunburn.

Action sequence! Graydon and the waves.

 

As you can probably tell, we are blissfully happy here. I smile more, breathe easier, hug my loves harder, and sleep better. I don't find myself constantly clenching my jaw or absently biting my nails or restlessly jigging my foot as I run feverishly through another "to do" list as long as my arm that I have no prayer of actually completing. I don't have that same crushing sense of anxiety that I'm constantly falling behind, consistently robbing Peter to pay Paul, and consequently, always failing.

I needed this. My family needed this.



 We needed some time together. We needed to remember why we do this.
 

We needed to remember that having children is more than just an endless string of needs and chores and #neverenoughtime and #forgetapersonallife and joyless service. And I'll be honest, it was starting to feel that way to me. I think that's what they call "burned out".

And now I remember why I wanted this life. Because it really is wonderful.


 And as draining as it can be, at times, it's also so fulfilling when you take time to embrace each other. To help each other on the journey.

 We are growing up, all of us, and we are growing together.


And it is in giving that we receive, in the timeless words of the prayer.

My final #Floridaproblem? Too busy beachin' it to blog. I might have to work on that one.

Action sequence! "Addie, show me your dimples!" and the poses that ensued.