Anticipation

Sometimes, the anticipation of something wonderful is even better than the thing itself. Sometimes, the anticipation is everything, the only thing, and when you arrive to whatever you've been awaiting, it's a bit of a letdown...not quite what you'd had in mind, not quite what you'd expected or imagined it would be.

This California trip, though? It was exactly what I'd wished for.

See, I'd hoped for something sort of remarkable, something bordering...if only slightly...on magic. And that's what I got, what I'm still in the midst of. (I thank Disneyland for the magic part. They don't call it the happiest place on Earth for nothing!)

The days were long, sunny and filled to the brim with indulgences: laughs that made our stomachs hurt, decadent meals, long and lingering afternoons spent at the pool.

It's what I live for, really. Time to step out of myself, out of my world, to play the observer to a place different from where I come from. Some people are uncomfortable when they're on the outside looking in, but not me. I find it absolutely freeing and inspiring.

All of this is to say that I apologize in advance for the inevitable gushing I'll be doing for a while. It's just that February was a bit gloomy. And that melancholy, it lingered for a while when March rolled around, threatening to last straight through to April. But this lovely little recess from it all has saved me, leaving me absolutely smitten.