We had a trip to Yellowstone planned for the end of August.

Our second ever all-family cross-country road trip.

We found a farm-sitter, chose our campsites, and set to work on our packing list. First the Badlands, then Yellowstone, onto Colorado and home once more. Two weeks of never-forget-it summer vacation.

But something felt off. Pete and I were both dragging our feet on trip planning. It felt too enormous, too overwhelming. So we talked quietly one night about cancelling Yellowstone in exchange for another winter road trip. As a consolation we'd take a cabin trip now, like every summer before.

The kids were game, and we changed our plans.

We both exhaled.

Sometimes that's what life is about, isn't it? Putting down the picture-perfect magical "big" and picking up the small and simple that fits so comfortably in the palm of your hand.

And so we did.

I was thankful for my go-with-the-flow family and our love of small, simple, familiar.

As our trip unfolded I grew even more thankful.

Because just before we left I found a bulls-eye rash on my leg and was treated for Lyme disease. Yes, again. I resisted the idea that it was Lyme for days and I still might be unconvinced if Pete hadn't found a bag of chicken thighs in the freezer that I had confidingly labeled "throats".

I picked up my prescription.

And then as we headed north Pete fell sick with a strange on-again-off-again summer "flu" and I suspected Lyme for him as well. Day after day he became sicker and finally was also treated half-way through our vacation. He's much sicker than I was, and even still is only just gaining strength. As I type he's laying down to rest before we load up the car for the final push toward home.

Home. How sweet that sounds right now.

Like the best sort of medicine.

And so we'll take things slow. As slowly as we can, anyway, as we wind our way back to the farm and the work that awaits us there.

(In that spirit, I have a post over on Simple Homeschool that you might enjoy, on homesteading and homeschooling. It's a good one. You can find it here.)

Mostly though I'm just grateful that we heard our intuition and called off our epic vacation in exchange for one we could handle.

Small but wonderful blessings indeed.

Here's to healing, to simple, and to coming home.