Time stands still...

At the little house in the woods, time stands still. To date, I have no reason to bemoan this simple treasure. For the minute the car wheels pull off the beaten path and start driving down that creepy wooded driveway, all civilization is left behind and the pure enjoyment of laughing with friends ensues. Granted, I'm not always a fan of the rustic, the makeshift toilet paper, questionably dead spiders, sleeping on a couch, bringing my own towel, a bathroom where I can wash my hands while "going" because everything is so conveniently close or moldy refrigerators. Yet these small sacrifices are nothing compared to the simple fun that is had when the cares and burdens of life are left where the pavement ends. I haven't laughed so much in such a long time, and it seems now more than ever I appreciate the therapeutic benefit of laughing over the silly, the sarcastic or the utterly disgusting! The girls I hang with are the responsible types, the ones you hope always surround you in life. It's a treat to know others are thinking about how we're going to set up the movie, make the coffee or pack the car. It's a good feeling to know I'm not the only one planning the best escape route if suddenly it were necessary to make it to the prius in 1.7 seconds flat. I think great adventures will continue to be enjoyed at this little house in the woods. I smile every time I think of it, and it's the simplest times of sitting around knitting or making goofy madlibs that make it so refreshing. I have to give some sweet kudos to Nini for providing her family with such a retreat from the world, truly a safe haven from this sometimes overwhelming business of life.