Where I Am This Week 10/06/2023
A brief note on vacations.
I’m out of town this week, and despite the news of someone being arrested in connection to Tupac’s murder, the resumption of the construction of the border wall, and Kevin McCarthy’s ousting as Speaker of the House being filtered in conversation via the phones and computers of my family members, I’m not writing about any of those things this week.
For a week, I’ve allowed news and politics to recede into the periphery. It only takes a handful of days for me to forget that the 2024 election is fast approaching and that our country feels like it’s splitting at the seams. Like Godzilla laying in wait to terrorize the Japanese, I, too, will come home to learn that the problems aren’t gone, they’re just been below the horizon for the time being.
Until then, however, have a great weekend. Spend some time doing and thinking of nothing - on me.
I’m fortunate to have been able to go on a family vacation almost every year. It’s a luxury that not everyone can afford, but the annual nature of the trip is another way to observe the change in my life.
For years, it was just us four, my parents, my sister, and me. Every summer we spent a whirlwind of three nights and four days running around the beaches of the panhandle of Florida and riding bicycles until our legs were tired. It was a time of adolescent magic that was created by taking a reprieve from nothing, being driven everywhere, and having meals and entertainment at your fingertips without having to lift a finger.
The joys of childhood.
As the years wore on, my sister missed a trip when she got married - we brought a friend of mine instead. And then, when it was my turn to get hitched, I missed the yearly slated journey to the coast with my family.
After the new couples had been established, vacations returned with regularity but with two added guests. Shortly after, my niece arrived and the entourage grew once more; four years later, my daughter was in tow.
Looking back through my memories of our trips is like flipping through a stop-motion cartoon in a notebook. There are gaps in between each holiday, but when you string them together quickly, you can see the pattern and story emerge.
Now, as the next generation of my clan is firmly in place, it’s the former kids’ turn to provide the effortless, idyllic week in a foreign land that our parents routinely have done without fail. And so it goes.
With a little luck - and divine intervention - my sister and I will be able to provide our children with a childhood that rivals our own in love and joy. The motivation to do so is clearly present in both of us; a world of effort is justified the moment one of our little girls responds with a smile. The next question that will be answered in the years to come is if we have the skills required to uphold the tradition.
Over time, locales have changed and new members have been added. The central theme has always remained consistent. Vacation isn’t about where you go, how much you spend, or what you do. It’s about putting preoccupations aside for a fleeting moment and embracing the love you have for one another.
So, now, thank God, my days are spent following around the unsteady steps of my 17-month-old, and my legs are tired from carting her and her cousin around in a bicycle trailer. It’s our turn to make the meals and do the carrying when our children just can’t go any further.
Though we have to upset our routines and leave our jobs and homes behind to spend a week together, and despite the fact that we’re no longer the sole recipient of all attention and entertainment, the magic remains.
To a better next week.
Cheers,
~FDA