This past few days have been a time away from all the madness of the world – a time to refresh, relax and restore some of the zest that’s been missing for quite a while. Our son invited us to spend a few days at a lovely lake home. Of course we agreed. How could we not?

As I set aside all thoughts of writing, aches and pains and frustrations of a world gone a bit crazy, I focused on enjoying the beauty of nature and total relaxation. As my friend Oneta, at Sweet Aroma told me, it was a time to refire – not retire.

We all need those getaways from time to time. Time to wipe away the cobwebs and clear out some of the dust bunnies of the brain. We also had the opportunity to share time with ours son’s fiancee and her parents. A great time was had by all of us and I got to share some time with a couple of adorable canines as well. Our grand dogs came along too. It was delightful being waken by a doggy facewash again.

In this world of ours, we need to escape from the noise and clatter of politics, protests, prejudice, anger and hatred. We are all missing the gatherings, the physical touch, the need to be together. We have a lot of lessons to be learned from this long time of isolation. I pray that we won’t let this time go to waste.

As kids return to school after the longest spring break ever, they will face a totally different way of learning. Teachers will also face new challenges. As we slowly emerge from our cocoons, we will all take on a different appearance. I am hopeful that this long period of contemplation, recharging and renewal will cause us to be restored and ready to go – ready to face the world with a positive outlook – ready to worship again in the way we once did – ready to remove the masks and smile at each other again.