Yin Yang

It’s a term we all know.  Most of us have probably used it to reference one thing or another.  In your mind you are probably picturing that cool circular black and white symbol.  Yin and Yang. . . do we really know what it means? 

You probably know that it is an ancient Chinese concept.  You might also know that it refers to the belief that there exists two complimentary concepts in the universe.  For example, sun and moon or soft and hard or Summer and Winter.  The idea is that one is not better than the other, but both are necessary and a balance is most desirable. 

We ran into this concept this weekend. . .

My apologies for the blurry photo. . . I was shaking with the anticipation of diving a big, juicy strawberry into it’s depths

. . . this time the complimentary concepts were DARK and WHITE CHOCOLATE.

(I had you going there for a second, didn’t I?  You thought I was going to talk about some deep, philosophical, meaning of life topic.)  Not this time. . . it’s chocolate.

This was the dessert Chad and I enjoyed during our last night of a little weekend get-away.  Thanks to some super cool in laws, Chad and I were given the gift of a few days away to celebrate our ten years together.  A few days away, sans kids, that is. 

If you have never been to the Melting Pot. . . it is a must try

As much as I adore my kids and the daily ins and outs we enjoy together, I also enjoy getting away and reminding myself of where it all began.  Kind of like the complimentary forces of hot and cold, I have found that time with my kids and away from the kids are equally important.

When Chad and I were on our way to our destination, we made a slight detour to revisit the place where it all began.  We drove through a vast covering of trees and up steep hills to locate the beautiful gorge overlook where he got down on his knee asked me to be his wife.

We hadn’t been back since that day.  I don’t know why, because it is oh, so breath-taking.  I was reminded of the importance of going back and remembering.  Remembering where it all began. I was reminded that it is  important to celebrate.  Celebrate not only where we are, but from where we’ve come and where we are going.  It all started somewhere, though, and this was our somewhere. 

Our time away was good.  We relaxed.  Yep, that’s what we did.  We relaxed.  We. are. party. animals.  One thing that I was most looking forward to was getting up and running together each morning.  Turns out, though, that I forgot my running shoes (Oops.) I also forgot my flat iron. (Yikes!) I also brought one earring. (What?) I also forgot my anti-nausea meds. (Uh-oh) And I found out when we picked up the kids that I had only packed 1 change of clothes for Charlie and 7 for Chanelle. (Seriously).  Let me just tell you. . . pregnancy brain is for real.  My brain couldn’t handle much, therefore, we relaxed.

But, I digress. . . back to Yin and Yang.

I buy into the concept of Yin and Yang.  (That white chocolate/dark chocolate balance was perfect).  Going further, though, I find that spending a few days away from the kids makes me appreciate all that I have a little more.  My marriage. . . and my kids.  It was wonderful to spend a few days having uninterrupted conversation with my husband.  To eat a while it was still warm and to spend time being Chad and Summer, and not just Momma and Daddy.

We are blessed to have parents who believe that our marriage is important and will sacrifice so that we can do these things.  I am well aware that not everyone can do this.  When we picked the kids up today, we came refreshed, excited, and ready to step back into our other roles. 

Both are good.  One is not better than another.  But a balance feels perfect.