We wanted to go to the desert. Originally we had planned to go to Sedona AZ but we had some sitter issues and weren't sure if the sitter was going to be able to come or not. Not wanting to make flight reservations without knowing if we could go, we decided to check out driving options. I am SO glad that we did. I discovered Big Bend National Park which is on the border of Mexico. My sister used to live not far from there and told us if we ever got the chance, to go. When I looked into it, I thought, "Why in the world are we traveling away from TX when there is so much beauty right here!" And so not fully knowing what to expect, we booked Lajitas Golf and Spa Resort. We met 3 different travelers along our trip that had also been to Sedona and said that it was pretty, but nothing compared to Big Bend and west Texas. And after a few days there, I understood exactly why they said this. My photos, video and words can't describe how beautiful it was there. If you ever get the chance, GO there. Everything from Terlingua to Presitos to Big Bend itself, it was just so inspiring.
While on our getaway, not only did I get some r&r, I also came to some realizations.
There was very limited cell service there in the desert. Meaning, I couldn't use my phone unless we were in our hotel room where there was wifi. On arrival, I was rather bummed about this. How would I stay connected to the kids back home or what if there was an emergency?! How would I share all of the wonderfulness or post to Instagram for Heaven's sake! Ha ha. I'm laughing now because I find it so intriguing how quickly we become enraptured by technology. How dependent we become of it. I am guilty, guilty, guilty of this. For the first entire day, I was constantly picking up my phone to post something or check for messages. Only to disappoint myself when I realized I couldn't. I also found that it was almost unsettling how I had forgotten to just enjoy the moment or live in the now. I didn't know what to do with myself! I am the kind of person who loves to be on the go most of the time. I love excitement happening all the time. It feeds my wild soul. But there were no kids to keep track of or chase after. There was no Facebook to check on or Instagram to reply to messages or post. There was just this magnificently beautiful place, Ty.....and me.
By the end of day one, I felt a sense of peace come over me that I had not felt in a very long time. I felt that Ty and I had connected more than we had in weeks. It just felt GOOD.
Of course, being the "moment-collector" that I am, I took a thousand photos and videos. Ty helped. But it was different. I was disconnected from all of the noise. I think that is a great word for it, noise. It is refreshing and so placid to be able to just sit and listen to the quietness of nothing after being caught up in noise for so long. I work at home everyday and it's as quiet as can be. I'm talking about that static noise of constant pressure to be connected to social media, or listening to crying kids, or dealing with work or cooking dinner, meal prepping, or stress from school or whatever it is that piles up on your plate week after week!....The things that bury your serenity. I am trying to structure my words so that people don't misunderstand this. I love working and being busy. I love raising my babies. God do I love them! I love being inspired or connecting with amazing people on Instagram and staying in touch with on Facebook. I love being busy! But I must say how amazingly freeing it is to let all of that go for a period of time and push reset.
And that is exactly what we did in Lajitas and Big Bend and all the small towns in between. We pushed the mute button on all of that noise. In return, we gained something that I could never attain without letting go of the noise.
We laughed and talked about things that I didn't realize we hadn't talked about in a very long time. We sat and listened to silence on the top of a mountain, looking down on the Rio Grande. We trailed through winding roads with the music blasting and the top down. I hung out of the top of a convertible and let my hair go wild while I sang my favorite songs. We had a picnic in the middle of the desert and drank Topo Chico on the back of the convertible. We found teepees and explored trails. We had dinner overlooking Mexico and breakfast over the unexpectedly green golf course in the middle of the desert. We sat by campfires at night, chatting with locals. We walked the golf course to watch the sunrise, coffee in hand. We relaxed for some glorious couples massages. We zip-lined the Mexico border and yes, I even got my anti-roller-coaster husband to join me! We rode horses into the sunset and then drank wine at the top of the mountain. We splashed by the pool and laid in that wonderful southern sun. We stopped at tiny gas stations-Ty filled up on gas and I took photos of trains going by. We watched how the people there lived so much more quietly than we have ever seen. So slow and intentional. Inspiring. I laid in Ty's lap while the stars came out...just thinking and talking about our dreams, what we wish we had done differently, about the future.
If this sounds too good to be true, well...I thought the same. And it was in one of those moments-me laying there thinking about how lucky I am to be able to live these moments, that it just hit me. Bam. Like that. These moments happen all of the time. Maybe not in such astonishingly beautiful surroundings, but they do happen. We forget how fortunate we really are and all of the wonderfulness in our lives. We miss so much of it because of all the distraction. I decided right then and there that I wanted to be intentional. I would set intentions to live in the moments and let less of the noise interfere with the things that make me soar.
Does this mean I am quitting social media? No. I am merely being purposeful with my time. Setting boundaries and being intentional with my time. When I'm with the kids, I will be there, with them, giving my attention fully. When I am working, I will put my full focus on that. When I am with Ty, there will be nothing else in the world that could draw me away. And when I'm writing a blog post or posting an Instagram photo, it will be my time to enjoy creativity. When I was there with no service, I had to video or photograph everything and post it later. I found that was a great way to be purposeful with moments. I can still document or take photos or video without taking 15 minutes to edit or message or scroll, therefore making me miss the good stuff. There will be time to edit, post or reply to messages later. These are my intentions and I have Lajitas to thank for this profound awakening. And if it all starts to creep back in, well, there's always another getaway waiting to remind us ;)
Also, a bunch of you asked about the music I was listening to on my stories while we were away. I will put together a playlist of the music I love and share that with you.
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