A Life You Don't Need a Vacation From
Several years ago, when I was a pre-teen, I went on a camping trip to Wisconsin with my parents. When we were setting up our tent, the middle support pole inexplicably bent and then broke into two, unusable pieces. I wanted to laugh but the look on my dad's face told me that would be a poor decision. Undeterred, dad ran clothesline through the middle of the tent where the middle pole was meant to go. He then tied each of the clothesline to two trees and our tent, limp but somewhat upright, drooped sadly. This particular family vacation, like all the others I took with my parents when growing up, preceded cell phones and social media. What's unfortunate is that no photo exists of the tent but the image can be easily recalled in my minds eye to this day. My parents and I squished into the sagging tent that night, resolving to trek into town the next day where we'd look for a new middle pole for the tent. My dad fumbled his way out of the tent to use the bathroom that night and when he returned, he was grumbling, "Some little smart ass put Vaseline on the toliet seat." Again, I knew better than to laugh as dad muttered a few more expletives after a frustrating day of vacation. The next day, our efforts to fine a new tent pole were unsuccessful in the town's overpriced general store. My mom purchased two very ripe cantaloupes from the local farmer's market and we soon made our way back to the campground. When we arrived at our site, the skies opened the rain poured down, unrelenting. It was raining so hard that we could barely see our tent, a few feet in front of us, taking a beating by the rain. The downpour made it so that we couldn't open our windows so the windows soon steamed up and the smell of cantaloupe was overpowering in our baby shit brown colored AMC station wagon.
The rain broke but picked up again that night, briefly. The next morning, I overheard two women in the bathroom exclaiming how someone's tent was still standing in spite of the storms the day before. When they referenced the clothesline supporting the tent between two trees, my face reddened in the realization that they were talking about our tent. I quickly exited the bathroom. By this time, my dad had reached his limit with camping and was packing us up and off to a hotel in an effort to save our vacation and our dignity.
Andrea and I are returning from a vacation that was much smoother than the one I described above, but no less memorable. We took our first cruise, departing from Seattle, to Alaska and a stop in Victoria, Canada (on Canada Day). Similar to my childhood vacations, there were stretches of time where our phone had no access - - a condition we plan to recreate at home with "digital detox" days. You can learn a lot on vacation - - about yourself & your travel companions (when things like tent poles break or when you have to drag your luggage down 33 flights of stairs at the Seattle, Westin). Vacation can re-ground you and remind you what's truly important. Our (Olivia) cruise featured a lot of entertainment, as most do, including "Literary Adventures at Sea" and a film festival. It was inspiring to hear published writers, such as Dorothy Allison and others, talk about their craft and getting published.
Have you ever seen that quote, "Create the kind of life that you don't need a vacation from." I feel grateful that Andrea and I have been able to do that but now that school is in our rear view mirror, we're ready to hold space for more travel in our lives.
Alaska, Washington state, and Canada were all beautiful. Tomorrow, it's back to work for both of us. I'm glad we're easing back in to the routine with 2 days of work. I'll miss not being able to spend the day with Andrea. You might expect us to be tired of one another by now, after almost 10 years of near constant hanging out together but I'm relieved to tell you that's not the case. While vacationing, we spotted a sole sea otter in Alaska. He was on a rock on the shore, enjoying a snack. Sea otters (usually a mom and her pup) hold hands while sleeping in the water so they don't float away from one another. I feel that way about Andrea. Anchored. Safe. Lucky.
The rain broke but picked up again that night, briefly. The next morning, I overheard two women in the bathroom exclaiming how someone's tent was still standing in spite of the storms the day before. When they referenced the clothesline supporting the tent between two trees, my face reddened in the realization that they were talking about our tent. I quickly exited the bathroom. By this time, my dad had reached his limit with camping and was packing us up and off to a hotel in an effort to save our vacation and our dignity.
Andrea and I are returning from a vacation that was much smoother than the one I described above, but no less memorable. We took our first cruise, departing from Seattle, to Alaska and a stop in Victoria, Canada (on Canada Day). Similar to my childhood vacations, there were stretches of time where our phone had no access - - a condition we plan to recreate at home with "digital detox" days. You can learn a lot on vacation - - about yourself & your travel companions (when things like tent poles break or when you have to drag your luggage down 33 flights of stairs at the Seattle, Westin). Vacation can re-ground you and remind you what's truly important. Our (Olivia) cruise featured a lot of entertainment, as most do, including "Literary Adventures at Sea" and a film festival. It was inspiring to hear published writers, such as Dorothy Allison and others, talk about their craft and getting published.
Have you ever seen that quote, "Create the kind of life that you don't need a vacation from." I feel grateful that Andrea and I have been able to do that but now that school is in our rear view mirror, we're ready to hold space for more travel in our lives.
Alaska, Washington state, and Canada were all beautiful. Tomorrow, it's back to work for both of us. I'm glad we're easing back in to the routine with 2 days of work. I'll miss not being able to spend the day with Andrea. You might expect us to be tired of one another by now, after almost 10 years of near constant hanging out together but I'm relieved to tell you that's not the case. While vacationing, we spotted a sole sea otter in Alaska. He was on a rock on the shore, enjoying a snack. Sea otters (usually a mom and her pup) hold hands while sleeping in the water so they don't float away from one another. I feel that way about Andrea. Anchored. Safe. Lucky.