Kind Like Katey

You know how you spend weeks looking forward to vacation? You imagine sitting beside a lake, enjoying campfires, spending time with family, and leaving all the stress of everyday life behind.

Yeah, well. Apparently, nobody told everyday life I was on vacation. 😂

We just wrapped up our vacation, which included five nights of camping at Lake Murray in South Carolina and the rest of our time off at home.

And if you looked at nothing but the pictures, you’d probably think we had the most peaceful, relaxing vacation ever.

Beautiful sunsets. Campfires. Family. Deer everywhere. An enormous orange moon rising over the lake. Good food. Lots of laughter.

And we really did have a wonderful time.

But those pictures don’t tell the whole story.

Sometimes life keeps happening even when you’re trying to take a break from it.

And boy, did life keep happening.

Five Nights at Lake Murray

We spent five nights at Lake Murray with Mom, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sandy, Uncle Danny, Stacy, and of course, Honey.

And honestly, this is the kind of time together I love most.

Nothing fancy. No elaborate plans. Just family enjoying each other’s company.

We ate together, had drinks together, laughed together, and enjoyed a campfire every single night.

We also celebrated Aunt Sandy and Uncle Danny’s anniversary, which made the trip even more special.

There’s something about sitting around a fire with family, sharing stories, laughing, and enjoying a few drinks that makes everything feel a little better.

The guys spent time fishing, and we rode the golf carts around looking for wildlife.

And let me tell you, there was plenty to see!

We saw more deer than I could count, including some gorgeous bucks with impressive racks. We watched them wandering through the campground, following the does, and generally acting like they owned the place.

I could have watched them for hours.

We even spotted an armadillo and a beautiful heron along the water.

The sunsets were absolutely gorgeous. And one evening, this enormous orange moon rose over the lake. It was breathtaking.

Those are the moments that remind me why I love camping so much.

No television needed. No fancy entertainment. Just nature doing its thing and people I love sharing it with me.

And then there was Honey.

Now, Honey is approximately 65 pounds of pure love who apparently doesn’t understand that camper beds aren’t designed for two adults AND a dog her size.

Every. Single. Night.

There we were, Stacy, me, and Honey, squeezed into that little camper bed.

And I’m pretty sure Honey thought she was the one doing us a favor by allowing us to sleep in it with her. 😂

She slept great.

The rest of us? Well, that’s debatable.

But that’s part of camping with family, too. Even the four-legged ones.

Those five nights gave us some wonderful memories, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

Out of Office… Sort Of

One thing this vacation made me realize is that I’m not very good at disconnecting from work.

I love my job. I’ve spent more than 20 years with the company, and I genuinely care about what I do and the people I work with.

But I also know I need to get better at stepping away.

Even though I was on vacation, something stressful and work-related came up every single day.

Every. Single. Day.

Some situations needed attention, and others just stayed on my mind long after I’d dealt with them.

And that’s the part I struggle with.

I can be sitting beside a beautiful lake, surrounded by family, watching deer wander through the woods, and still find myself thinking about something happening back at work.

It’s not always easy to turn that part of my brain off.

And sometimes, even after a situation is handled, the stress doesn’t just disappear.

Your mind keeps going.

I know I can’t control everything that happens while I’m away, but I can work on how much of my time and energy I allow it to consume.

Because there’s a difference between being away from work and actually giving yourself permission to rest.

Apparently, that’s something I’m still learning. 😂

Because Life Wasn’t Finished With Us Yet…

During vacation, Mom fell and broke her arm.

Yep. You read that right.

So off to the hospital we went.

And holy crap, the bruising that followed! Her shoulder, chest, and arm looked absolutely awful.

I felt so bad for her.

One of the things we quickly realized was that with her arm broken, she couldn’t put her long hair up anymore.

And if you’ve ever had long hair constantly falling in your face, you know how frustrating that can be. Now imagine trying to manage it when you can’t lift one of your arms.

So Mom asked me to cut her hair.

Now, I used to cut hair, but it’s been YEARS.

And apparently, I was about to find out just how rusty those skills had gotten. 😂

We took it a little at a time because I figured we could always go shorter. We couldn’t exactly glue it back on if I messed up.

There was a whole lot of trimming, checking, trimming some more, and trying to make sure she could still tuck it behind her ears.

I thought we did pretty well!

Then last night, Mom mentioned that after it dried, she noticed a few places that needed adjusting.

So apparently, my little hair salon has a follow-up appointment scheduled. 😂

But seriously, I’m glad she asked me to help.

If cutting her hair makes things a little easier while she’s healing, I’m happy to do it.

Even if I need a little more practice.

Sometimes kindness is something as simple as helping someone with a task they can no longer do for themselves.

And sometimes it involves a pair of scissors and a whole lot of hope.

Cancer Doesn’t Take a Vacation Either

I also had an appointment with Dr. Deng during my time off.

We discussed my blood work, and for now, the plan is to continue monitoring things.

No big decisions right now. Just continued monitoring.

If you’ve followed my cancer journey, you know that even after treatment ends, the uncertainty doesn’t magically disappear.

I wish it did.

I wish I could close that chapter, put the book on a shelf, and never think about it again.

But that’s not how this works.

There’s always another appointment. Another blood test. Another result to wait for.

And while I try really hard not to let cancer take up too much space in my head, some days it manages to sneak in anyway.

I don’t want to spend my life waiting for the next result.

I want to LIVE my life.

I want to go camping, laugh with my family, watch deer wander through the woods, and get excited about a beautiful sunset.

And that’s exactly what I intend to keep doing.

Even when there’s a little uncertainty riding along with me.

Back Home, But Definitely Not Resting

After our five nights at Lake Murray, we spent the remainder of vacation at home.

You’d think that might mean a few lazy mornings, maybe catching up on things around the house, and actually relaxing.

Not exactly.

Stacy and his brother built a deck for their mom’s camper.

An actual deck.

Because apparently, the men in this family think vacation means it’s time to start a construction project. 😂

But I love that they spent that time together doing something for their mom.

And now she has a nice deck to enjoy when she’s camping.

It was another one of those things that made the week busy, but also meaningful.

And somewhere between everything else, we still managed to squeeze in a little Halloween fun.

Halloween, Ice Cream, and One Awesome Veggie Tray

Stacy and I headed back to work during vacation to help serve ice cream to the kiddos at our company’s trick-or-treat event.

Yes, I know. After talking about how much I needed a break from work, I voluntarily went back to work.

The irony is not lost on me. 😂

But this was different. It was something fun we wanted to be part of, and seeing the kids enjoying themselves made it worthwhile.

We also went to a Halloween party.

I ended up dressing as a witch, complete with my black and red outfit, and Stacy went as a creepy skeleton.

And then there was my veggie tray.

Y’all. I was ridiculously proud of this thing.

I carved a pumpkin and turned it into a Halloween veggie display, complete with creepy little details. I also made homemade sourdough pretzel bites to go with the buffalo chicken dip.

Because apparently I don’t know how to do anything halfway.

I could have bought a premade veggie tray and called it a day.

But where’s the fun in that?

It turned out AWESOME, and I’m giving myself full credit for that one. 😂

We laughed, enjoyed the party, and had a great time.

And for a little while, I wasn’t thinking about work, blood tests, or everything else waiting for me.

I was just having fun.

And Then Came Sunday…

The final day of vacation.

Surely, this would be the day to relax and mentally prepare myself for returning to work.

Not exactly.

I spent part of Sunday putting together presentation slides for a meeting first thing Monday morning.

Not quite how I’d pictured spending the last day of vacation, but sometimes that’s how things work out.

And Monday morning, right back to reality I went.

Was I refreshed?

Not exactly.

Was I grateful for the time away?

Absolutely.

And that’s where things get complicated.

Two Things Can Be True

I’ve been looking through all these pictures, and I keep thinking about how beautiful everything looks.

The sunsets. The lake. The campfires. The wildlife. The Halloween costumes. The smiles.

And those pictures aren’t misleading. Those moments were real.

We had fun. We laughed. We made memories. We spent time with people we love.

But what the pictures don’t show is everything else happening along the way.

The unexpected hospital visit.

The worry that comes with cancer monitoring.

The responsibilities that don’t disappear just because you’re on vacation.

The mental exhaustion of trying to be present while your mind is being pulled in a dozen different directions.

And I think sometimes we put pressure on ourselves to pretend everything was wonderful just because there were wonderful moments.

But you can have a great vacation and still come home exhausted.

You can be grateful for time with family and still wish you’d gotten a little more rest.

You can laugh around a campfire and still have things weighing heavily on your mind.

Both things can be true.

I don’t want to look back on this trip and only remember the stressful parts.

Because there was so much good.

And I want to be clear about something.

Helping Mom wasn’t a burden. Spending time with family wasn’t a burden. Halloween wasn’t a burden. And I’m glad Stacy got to spend time with his brother building something for their mom.

Those are the things that make life worth living.

What I struggled with most was finding a way to quiet my mind and truly be present, even when there were things happening outside of my control.

And I don’t want to pretend I came home feeling completely rested and recharged when the truth is, I didn’t.

Maybe I Need to Learn a Little Something From This

If there’s one thing this vacation made painfully obvious, it’s that I need to get better at protecting my own peace.

I spend a lot of time taking care of things.

At work, I’m solving problems, making decisions, and trying to make things better.

At home, I’m taking care of the people I love.

And somewhere in between, I’m navigating my own health and trying to figure out what life looks like after cancer.

I’m not complaining about having people and responsibilities that matter to me.

But I am realizing that I can’t keep putting myself at the bottom of the list.

I need rest, too.

Not just time away from the office. Actual mental rest.

The kind where I can sit beside a lake without wondering what might need my attention.

The kind where I don’t feel guilty for stepping away.

The kind where I can simply enjoy the moment I’m in.

I haven’t figured out how to do that yet.

Clearly. 😂

But I’m working on it.

And maybe that’s the lesson I’m taking home from this trip.

A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way

When I think about Kind Like Katey, I think about kindness, love, and showing up for people.

And this vacation gave me plenty of reminders of what that looks like.

It looked like spending time with family around a campfire.

It looked like celebrating an anniversary with people we love.

It looked like making children smile over a cup of ice cream.

It looked like cutting my mom’s hair because she needed a little help.

It looked like Stacy and his brother building a deck for their mom.

It looked like laughter, silly costumes, and taking the time to make something special for a party.

And yes, it even looked like sharing a ridiculously small camper bed with a 65-pound dog who has absolutely no concept of personal space.

None of those things were grand gestures.

They were just little moments of love and kindness tucked into an otherwise chaotic vacation.

But there’s something else I’ve been thinking about.

I need to remember to be kind to myself, too.

To recognize when I’m tired.

To accept that I can’t fix everything.

To understand that taking a break doesn’t mean I care any less.

And to stop feeling like I have to earn the right to rest.

Because life is always going to happen.

There will always be another problem, another responsibility, another appointment, or another unexpected phone call.

If I wait for everything to settle down before I give myself permission to enjoy life, I might be waiting forever.

So no, this wasn’t the peaceful, relaxing vacation I’d hoped for.

But it was still a beautiful one.

And when I look back, I hope I remember the deer, the sunsets, that gorgeous orange moon, the laughter, and the people I shared it all with.

Not the things that needed my attention.

Not the stress.

Not the to-do lists waiting for me.

Just the good stuff.

And maybe next time, I’ll actually figure out how to give myself permission to disconnect.

Until then, I’m going to keep finding the good in the middle of the mess.

Because life doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.

And sometimes, being Kind Like Katey means remembering that you deserve a little kindness yourself. ❤️