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After almost two years holding down the fort here solo at The Jessamine Journal, I finally convinced my boss to give me a little time off. Just kidding, a lot of time off, as I flew with my husband to Florida and took a cruise for eight days last week. Excited, I couldn’t wait to get aboard ship and relax. This being our first cruise, I also couldn’t wait to unplug and leave the rest of the world behind as I sailed across the Atlantic to our destination. I was even a little excited to lose service, and didn’t dare buy the internet package as I packed many books and enjoyed catching up on some much overdo reading.

Nine days, thousands of miles of traveling, and two tired and slightly irritated spouses later I can honestly say Dorothy had it right when she clicked her heels together and whispered that famous line in 1939, “there is no place like home.”

Oh, the cruise was fun, but also about two maybe three days too long for either of our liking. Not only that, but we were hit with a tropical storm coming back into Miami. For those of you who have ever been on a cruise ship, you understand the level of sickness I am still trying to push past several days later. Who takes a cruise during hurricane season, right? Obviously we do, but I guess we weren’t thinking that when we planned our wedding 14 years ago with no thought of this trip in mind.

Leaving the three kids at home now that all our parents are considered Kentuckians, it was very nice stealing away and remembering that day, which doesn’t seem like 14 years ago, that we took our vows. But, to be honest, the grumpy mess we came home in and the way we separated and went about our individual ways once walking in the door does make me feel like the honeymoon stage maybe was a little bit longer ago than I remember.

Don’t get me wrong. We had a blast. We had adventures on our time together that involved renting bikes or scooters and exploring the islands we stopped at all day long. We also went snorkeling, ate and drank too much and bought a million gifts we had to somehow figure out how to bring back. We did vacation right, and that is what life is all about after all, isn’t it?

Still, coming home, sleeping in our own bed, hugging our babies and having a home cooked meal is something no vacation will ever be able to measure up to. Waking up Monday morning and getting back to the grind of everyday life, I found comfort in the routine. As did my husband who text me on the way to work and took the words right out of my mouth when he said, “it’s good to be back.”

That it is. And even though I came back to almost two weeks of emails and two publications which needed to be put out in two days, I still agree with my husband. Vacation is nice, but there is no place like home.