I’m back! My family has just returned from the longest vacation in our history. I use the term ‘vacation’ loosely because if you’re a mom, you know you’re always working. Anyhow, we toured the East Coast via automobile; Niagara Falls, Boston, New York City, Newport,RI, Baltimore, Washington DC, Virginia Beach, then ending with a whitewater rafting trip in the mountains of West Virginia. Yes, 5 people in an SUV, 2 of which are teens (with one able to drive as well). Did I sleep much…nah. Was it crazy fun? I still need to take a step back and soak in all we’ve done. I have to say the trip was diverse; from a baseball game at historic Fenway Park, to a Broadway show; from staying in a suite at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC to sleeping in a tent with no electricity or running water in the mountains. I just now looked at the 300 pictures I took and I had to laugh. This vacation I decided to take a different approach to picture taking. Instead of all smiles (which you see all the time), I wanted to go ‘real’. I decided to take the frustrated, angry, bored, etc pictures as well as the smiley ones. By the time we got to Boston, my daughter caught on to what I was doing and when she had the camera she did the same. Looking at the pictures just now, the ‘real’ ones are the ones that are cracking me up. Sure, the other pics document great moments and smiling faces, but the others, well, they document what was really happening at times, and the expressions of true feelings, well, priceless. I would include some of my pics but I think certain family members may not be that happy with me if I did.
How many of you have vacation pictures where everyone is all smiles? Everyone I’m sure. It’s the in between moments that I wanted to capture, the ‘real’ stuff, it’s what I crave. Sometimes I get sick of all the facades people put up. It gets tiring. I’m tired myself sometimes of portraying a pretty picture. That’s not how life is all the time is it? The best part of vacation for me? Spending all that time with my kids, talking with them and really getting deep, especially with my older two. If you have teens you know that they start getting quiet and start spending more and more time with friends instead of you. This time was precious to me getting to know their struggles and their thoughts on various worldly issues that teens go through. All in all it was a good vacation; a little long for me because I’m kind of a homebody, but good. So what do my pictures say? What do people think when they look at you? Smiles are great, but being ‘real’ is even better.
Today I wear Carmex strawberry with SPF 15 because it’s all I wore on vacation. In fact, we had to stop at Walgreen and buy more. I try to be pretty low maintenance when I travel so it’s usually just tinted sunscreen and lip balm…talk about real…real scary that is! Cheers!
Anna's Lipstick Journey 
As always, your journeys make my ❤ smile. I soo understand so much of what you write. Thank u for sharing.
Thanks Missy!
I truly love the name with lipstick in it. I’m a Lip Tician also known as Esthetician for 18 years specializing in Oncology. I enjoyed reading your journey on vacation. I have 23,18 and 13 year olds. I know what you mean.
Hi Angie! I love that you’re a ‘lip tician’! Thanks for reading my journey! Any advice on the teens would be appreciated!
Once again, you’ve nailed it, girl. Sounds like you had the vacation that the whole family needed. Know what you mean about the teens; am Starting to go through that with my grandkids, now. As far as the pictures go, I live like that. I want to remember how things really were, not how others wanted them to be. Haven’t figured out what is wrong in neck, but hey, I can still type. Waking up is such a wonderful thing. Love Ya’
Hi Bob! Yes, it was at the very least a memorable vacation. Gotta make the most of every day, praying you are well! You are always in my thoughts and prayers! Love ya!
Welcome back from vacation. Even if the smile pictures don’t represent all of life’s moments, iti s nevertheless good to see that lovely smile and know you had a great time.
Thanks Cataherine! I do love to smile to and love the smiling faces…but I have to say seeing some of the more candid shots have made me laugh out loud!