Self-portrait(s)

After being away for a week and a half, I almost feel like I'm returning to another world. Breaks are good. Andrew and I spent about a week in New Hampshire, and before that, I was in Phoenix for a work conference. Our little vacation proved to not only be a wonderful time reconnecting with family and friends, but it also allowed us some time with ourselves. To rest our minds. To relax. To visit with others. To be hundreds of miles away from work. To escape the demands of daily life. To read. To (try to) abstain from email and blogs and phone calls. Instead, we could just be with each other and our families in the most basic sense. Whenever I have a chance to do this, I get a little closer to identifying the kind of life I'd like to lead: one that is perhaps a little slower paced, that is defined primarily by real, human interaction, and one that leaves room for the unknown and unexpected. Communing with loved ones coupled with a little self-introspection: not a bad way to take a break.