Sometimes I wonder if I'm just moving too fast and that I should step back and slow-down. With some things, I think that's the case. But let's face it. No matter how much time I have, I will have a to-do list. There will be work to do. Housework, home improvement, veterinary work. There's always something. So while spending a lot of my time traveling may seem a little foolish, I really don't think it is. Let me explain:
When we are traveling- my son pretty much gets my un-devoted attention = win for him. He gets so much attention that I think he (and I) actually get sick of it, so when we get home, he likes to go off and do his own thing and I get to catch up with stuff. This is a minor thing, but if I just stay at home working, housework and all the other things I feel I need to catch up on, I'm not necessarily as intentional with my time with him. He's not going to have fond memories of mommy doing housework. He is going to have memories of all the things I take time to do with him like the library, the pool and travel.
While travel can be stressful and physically draining, it can also be rewarding. My son and I spent our trip together with each of our three stops being restorative.
We had some great visits to friends. Even though I have a ton of things I should catch up on/be doing at home and there’s always work to do, I think it was definitely worthwhile to take the trip and time away. At each of our three stops, my son and I met with family and friends who were refreshing and supportive. They were like mini-retreats of encouragement. Listening ears and supportive spirits, it was much like a retreat and my son had a great time too. He got to meet and renew friendships with people, go to a horse race for the first time (He didn’t want to leave after 4 hours), sleep with the sound of a waterfall in the background (due to our rustic surroundings) and experience rural Vermont life, including bringing home the chickens at night!
It had it's moments too- like the time I couldn't find a rest stop in two states! Really? I won't go into details. My son had a lot of energy and a lot of time in the car can be hard. So, whether it was going on a hike, or swimming in the pool, I tried to get some energy out of him before we got stuck in the car. There wasn't too much junk food as we are pretty good at eating healthy- and so were the family and friends we were visiting. My son did find his favorite new hot dog joint which just happens to be 75 years old.
I feel kind of guilty I've let my blog slack this summer. I've been busy and tired and have a lot of things that I need to catch up on. But then I realized writing isn't like another thing on my to-do list.
Writing has always been therapeutic for me. Whether it was as a confused teenager moving to a different school and quite frankly different culture, or a young adult struggling with a health crisis, writing has always helped me process things. It has often entertained or enriched my family and friends. I definitely don't have the grammar and English skills that a great writer should have (somehow with the moves between schools and the fact that my creative writing skills always let me slide through English class, I lost some skills along the way). I do have the heart of a writer though. I do feel this is somehow something that I'm supposed to be doing. So while all the things on my to-do list will always be there. I need to remember that just like our vacation, sometimes the effort that it takes to do something is really worth it because it refreshes and restores.
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