Back on the Road
It’s been two years since I joined my family on our annual road trip. Seventeen hours from Chicago, in a rented van, to join my husband’s family at a beachfront house on the Outer Banks. With the work project and the new books and all the personal things that happened in recent years, it just wasn’t a priority for me.
Which is sad.
Because I missed so much.
And of course, we think about flying every year – but the car ride for the past ten years has been our very own tradition.
So much change has happened while I was away.
My nephews are taller. My in laws are older. The house seems so much smaller. My son’s laughter reverberates through the walls. Like an only child, he’s ecstatic to be around his cousins. There’s an abundance of food, of board games, of shoes and flip flops thrown around the entranceway of the house. Four families, nine kids. All huddled around the living room, watching the grandparents watch Fox News.
Sunday was Steak night, Monday was Brazilian night (in honor of the Olympics) and last night was Filipino night. There’s still an Eat out night and a Clambake night before this is all over.
And then there’s an abundance of alone time. To reflect, to rest and rejuvenate.
Enough to finish Eight Goodbyes. To review The Light in the Wound on audio (shout out to Anna Kasabian).
I still hold my 4:00 pm Status Meetings with the people at work. I still check and catch up on email late at night. But the fact that I am here, that I am present and engaged, that I am actually enjoying the people that should matter most to me, is a great big change for me.
And for my family.
Beautiful memories to be made. Enjoy every minute of it. Life can be so crazy and uncertain that we let the pure enjoyment of our loved ones take a backseat in life. Grab a hold of the laughter and joy surrounding you on your vacation. It will replenish your soul. Congrats on finishing your latest masterpiece !!!!
I am happy to hear you are embracing this time off! TIme burns up faster and faster…takes you by surprise.
I am loving my days recording. The Light in the Wound. My breaks are walking with my dog to the boat harbor here, smelling the salt air…
In life only two things matter-God and family.