Back to Life, Back to Reality.

A little bit of Fall in Madeline's State Park

O.K., I've really dated myself with the En Vogue song lyrics in this blog post title but it's been a common theme running through my head the last two weeks as we packed up our family and moved off the island and back to Eau Claire, WI.   It was tough to leave and I think we all shed a few tears on the Ferry ride back to the mainland.

I've decided that the transition is hard not just because we are leaving the island but because life changes so drastically when school begins. I have to remind myself that there are many positives to the change also.  The kids go back to school and we hunker down into a sometimes hectic but often entertaining round of kid activities that keep us busy day in and day out.  Ted ramps up his business with the return of the school schedule and I open my doors to my Clean Spirit Yoga Studio in Eau Claire.  The routine itself of expected days is comforting. 

That said there are a few things of Madeline's summer that I will miss.  Planning for these same adventures in summer of 2012 will be my focus when the Eau Claire winter gets old around March and April.

1. Kayaking.  Whether with a group of friends or women experiencing the beauty of Madeline's sea caves for the first time, I've grown to love the sport of kayaking more than any other since I was introduced to yoga over a decade ago.

2. The State Park.  I spent a lot of time exploring our parks this summer and it never got old.  The beauty is pristine and immense and one would never guess you were in the state of Wisconsin standing on the shores of Lake Superior.  The landscape and vegetation are vastly different from both the Southwestern part of the state where I grew up and (rolling farm hills) and Eau Claire with its rivers and pines.

3. Teaching yoga at The Lightkeepers Lodge, on the beach, and the dock.  One of my dear Eau Claire friends was visiting and kindly remarked that she appreciated my Eau Claire studio but nothing compares to a savasana on the dock with the lapping of water underneath. That, along with teaching daily classes with Christy Wandrei from Yoga On The Rock, was one of my favorite summer experiences.

4. The Retreats.  Meeting like-minded women and sharing my love of both yoga and the island was a fantastic experience.  I love my job.  Next summer look for more retreats with Yoga and Kayaking and Yoga and Art returning, and two new adventure retreats Yoga and Bike, and Yoga and Horses (more info to follow).

5. Quality Family Time (QFT).  We had a great summer.

Last night, after shopping all day for back-to-school stuff (is it really possible that Target doesn't have a single  Number 2 pencil left in stock???), Ted and I went to a surprise 40th birthday party.  As we danced the night away with great friends we had missed all summer it felt really good to be home again.