Last week, Vasili and I packed our bags, dropped the animals off at our family’s place and drove down to Carbondale, IL for a mini-vacation to escape the grind and stress of work.  In addition to some much needed R&R, we also wanted to visit some dear friends who just had a baby about 2 months ago (who, by the way, is the most loved little girl ever!).  For 3 days straight we all hung out on the farm, made homemade blueberry waffles, played with baby Iris and showered her with kisses, watched 2 seasons of Trailer Park Boys, walked through the woods and talked about life & the universe.  A friend said at one point that the problem with a lot of people up north (aka, those who live in the city or general area) is that they are so disconnected from themselves and from nature.  At first I didn’t really get the significance of this but then as Vasili and I were driving home I began to think back to how you could see SO MANY stars in the sky at night in Carbondale – compared to ‘up north’ where you’re lucky if you can catch the occasional star or two poking from behind the light pollution.  Of course people are so detached from nature and ultimately themselves!  How can you  possibly understand how small we are in this universe if you can’t even see the stars? I guess it’s once you realize how statistically lucky we are to be present on this earth, at this time in space that you can truly start to appreciate life and understand how precious our time here is.  So with that being said, thank you so much to our amazing friends for letting us stay in their home for a few days and for helping us remember what it’s like to see the stars again.. )