My cousin Jessi and her husband live in Charleston, S.C., and they are expecting a baby girl sometime in the next few weeks. In true Midwestern fashion, about a dozen women from my extended family decided that we needed to travel to Chucktown to throw her a family baby shower. I climbed onto a plane at 4 p.m., on Friday afternoon, and arrived in South Carolina at 9:00 p.m. I spent Saturday talking long beach walks, running, doing yoga by the water, and getting seriously burnt to a crisp with my cousin Emily, before gathering for a family dinner and shower that night.

At 5:30 a.m., on Sunday, I made my way back to the airport and flew back to Nashville just in time to watch my shirtless boyfriend chop up (yet another) fallen tree in my backyard. In short, it was a great weekend. I didn’t realize until I fastened my seatbelt on the airplane that I really needed a day away. I really needed a sunburn, and beach yoga, and a long walk and talk with my mom.