Being Here

Wow, that was fast. I’m normally not this prolific.

But when 2/3 of your family falls ill while on vacation, you find yourself with a lot of time on your hands. And now that it’s our last full day of vacation, I’ve had a lot of time to think. I watched as my children, now adults, sat by the pool, ordered drinks, ran around and took frequent naps. One of them loved Pina Coladas to death, the other kept wanting to eat at the buffet. The third one hardly spoke to us because she was too busy making googly eyes at her boyfriend.

They are all so different and yet so alike.

On Day 4, I woke up with this sudden realization: I haven’t been as present as I’d intended to be and it doesn’t look like this year will be any different. With our youngest leaving for college, a new house, a renewed focus on my career coupled with a new book release – it would be silly for me to think that this year won’t be slipping through my fingers like all the others.

So, I’m going to have to compromise like I have all these years. I’m going for quality and not quantity. Every single moment we get a chance to be together, they will be precious and special and memorable. How to accomplish that? By continuing to be grateful for everything God has blessed us with. When I look back at our evolution as a family – these annual trips for the past 28 years (yes, I have a 30 year old!) – there is consistency in the love and togetherness we’ve shared. Even if our trips have evolved from weekends at the Wisconsin Dells to tours of Europe and Asia – the love, the laughter, the gratitude – those things have remained intact. We’ve been lucky – really lucky – and knowing that things can change at any given time serves to keep us grounded.

And so, on this, our last day of pure, uninterrupted rest and relaxation, I offer up a full and grateful heart.