Not the chiropractic kind of adjustment. The “get back to life. Slowly” adjustment.

Yesterday, after a grand total of 14 hours at home, we hopped back in the car to drive north to visit with sailing buddies. The dogs came with us (watching Belle dejectedly watch the packing from her perch on the couch was funny, particularly when we then got to see her bound up in delight when we said, “You’re coming!”). The kids plugged in, Jeremy and I talked, the traffic built.

If there is a Hell, and if I’m headed there, I have a feeling it will look exactly like traffic in Northern Virginia. Makes me want to repent of all sins right this second.

But I digress.

Our dogs have never been to this house. The initial sniffing frenzy gave way to finding the water bowl, and the best places to curl up for a nap.

The kids scattered with their friends; grownups meandered in and out of the kitchen, refilling drink glasses and grazing on whatever snack was on the counter.

We met these friends, really met them, in the Bahamas, months after a fleeting shouted introduction on the Waterway just south of Cape Canaveral. Boats with kids on them were rare enough that winter that anytime you saw a kid boat it was cause for celebration. That these people became close friends was roast-beef-savor-delicious, like a fabulous vacation where you don’t expect it.

Though getting back in the car after hours of driving felt a little silly, getting here and reconnecting in person (as opposed to via email or phone calls) feels like the best readjustment to life we could do. We have friends, and a life that includes our dogs and homemade food and laughter – those things don’t exist only on vacation. Our old dog, Sadie, wanting to be a part of our circle but not right in front of the fire, found herself a new dog bed.

And maybe that’s part of what we’re doing here. Finding ourselves a new dog bed. Adjusting to life after vacation and being content with what we have.

Badass is finding the joy in what IS.

Happy Old Year’s Night!