Blessed in Boise

     It has not been that long since we traveled, we did Disney World in February, an aviation conference in Bozeman, as well as a week long trip to help on our daughter's house in Butte in March, and a women's mentoring seminar in Bozeman in April.  In other words, we have hardly been home bound.  But apparently it has been a while since we have had the kind of trip where Reed spends his time overseeing maintenance on an airplane and I spend my time living up to my title, "Lady of Leisure".  I can tell it has been a while because of the degree of unwinding I am experiencing today.  It is as if a tense muscle I was totally unaware of, has finally relaxed.  I find myself breathing deeply as if I had been under water too long.  And for a couple hours I was unwilling to disrupt the contentment with even the effort of making a second cup of tea, one of my Lady of Leisure indulgences. 
     There are several reasons I find these trips particularly relaxing.  I tell people I must have been born carrying a little suitcase because I have loved to travel for as long as I can remember. (My dad, who remembers me a little farther back than I do, claims this was not true in my toddler years.) Travel was a secret longing of my heart that was never fully requited until Reed got a job in corporate aviation, through which God fulfilled my desire far beyond my expectations. I've noticed God has a tendency to do that.  Another reason is that when I am home, I see all these tasks that need to be done--I don't do them, but I can see them and that is irritating.  It is the same for Reed who comes home from multiple, unfinished projects at work to multiple, unfinished projects at home.  Having both of us more relaxed yields certain unmentionable benefits.
    I don't have to cook, even though our room has a modest kitchen.  The hotel provides breakfast and a simple dinner four nights a week.  I don't clean.  I have acquaintances who are concerned about the cleaning habits of third world hotel maids, my only concern is that I don't have to do it.  I don't even make the bed, though I never leave the house without making it at home.  When I am a Lady of Leisure, I have servants to do those things.  The hardest task I have during the day is deciding where we should go for dinner.
    When we are in Boise, as we are for this trip, I have friends and relatives to visit, but I also enjoy traveling to places where I don't know a soul.  I have learned to be content sightseeing alone, although I once had a St. Louis bus driver turn to me and say, "Ain'tcha got no fray-ends?"  I clearance shop at stores close enough to walk to which, in this case, includes Boise Townsquare Mall. I am also very content to just sit by the pool and read or write.  A legacy of similar poolside vacations with our children is that the smell of chlorine relaxes me.  The twinges of guilt I feel as a Lady of Leisure are easily exorcised by exercising or even taking a nap.  It's not a good idea to tell God He's wrong, even when He is clearly overblessing us.  It reveals that we are oblivious to the price He paid for us in the first place.