Thursday:
There are some people who don’t care about travelling too much and there are some people who live for it. I would put Hubby and I in the category of almost near the people who live for it.
Our wanderlust levels are not at the highest peak there is-but our leisure levels are. And travelling if done well it is always accompanied by good food, lots of rest, memorable moments and lovely things to see. So I would say we live for our next trip.
My Sister Savvy understands what I mean..right Savvy?
For the 17 yrs we have known eachother we always talk about our lives in terms of the next vacation. I could name off her next 6 vacations much more easily than I could the name of her street, or neighbors or details of her job. So yes we live for it.
A few months ago my Mom asked me the question “what are some of the things between you and Savvy that are unique and special to your relationship?”. Talking about travel and trips is one of them for sure….right up there with talking about our daily lives. Which is interesting given that we live so far apart. We talk about the ins and outs of our daily lives and loves quite a bit and all the upcoming excursions. Whereas with most of my friends who live around the corner I focus on other things and less on my daily life and much less on my trips. It was a good question my Mom asked me. Made me realize how Savvy comes with me on all my trips and I come on hers with her too. We need each other on them.
What I realize each time I travel is how aware of time I become. I can’t believe that now I am already at that stage of my life where I am thinking “only 2 trips left as a family where Chase won’t be working part time..or only two trips left before all three are limited by the high school schedules”. I honestly can’t believe I’m already there.
Thank goodness I have used these years to travel with my family. Our best moments have been at the cottage and abroad. Our best memories come from experiencing things together outside of our daily life and routines.
I realize with each trip how precious these next few years are for me and we literally build our time around travel. When I write my boss and email requesting upcoming vacation it is never about the next season’s vacation it is about the next 3 yrs.vacation! We book our trips sometimes 1-2 yrs in advance! That is how important travel is to us…our lives are planned around it.
For us Europe and exciting places were key before we had kids. For the last 14 yrs however relaxing beach vacations and kids clubs have become paramount. Now that I have the taste of Europe back again on this trip(besides business travel which I have always done) it will be hard to keep me away. The next seven years will include Spain, Amalfi Coast and Capri Italy, a Greek Island Sail,some other type of boating or sailing trip abroad, Bali, California Coast and Costa Rica. Some with the kids and some without.
Now that the kids are older it’s easier to take them and easier to leave them too. Have I mentioned how great these years are in so many ways? Yes yes you get all the teen problems…but you get to travel too!!!! I can handle a few cigarettes and beers in exchange for that with a few broken curfews woven in…easy exchange.
My parents when I was young also took me travelling-and I loved it. We did not go as often or as far as we go with our kids…but they still always made it a priority and bless their hearts for that. They had limited budgets, but what they did have we always used for leisure and travel and family outings. They always made things interesting and lived life in a lot of ways to the fullest. They did not skimp when it came to fun and I always appreciated that knowing that financially things weren’t always smooth. I learnt to enjoy life because of my parents and the way I was raised. I learned to realize that the world was much bigger than the four walls of our home.
What’s interesting for me about travel is as much as I love it, I hate preparing and packing for it, and so does my Guy. We hate it. Thankfully that is where Savvy comes in (not to pack for us!) when it comes to planning. She picked and planned out this cruise for us-we just listened and booked it and paid for it. I am certain she will be picking out the next few too…..
So as I soak in the next and last two days of our trip with Bear, I remain grateful that we understand our priorities and act on them. Every moment of work I do is worth is for the luxury of travel and owning a cottage-I am serious when I say I would be in a huge depression if I lost my job for many reasons, but one of the main ones would be that it would seriously put my next trips and my cottage in some serious jeopardy.
So Savvy…goodnight. I know you are reading this because not only do you follow my blog always-as I follow yours-but I am on vacation so you may be opening that computer at the crack of dawn to live your wonderful wanderlust though me-just as I always seem to do when you are away. I appreciate that about us..and I treasure it. It occurred to me strongly on this trip that travelling is so very close to my heart and I am so blessed to have you share that portion of my heart so closely with me and understand how it beats so very well.
To fully understand that a cancelled flight or trip…is disastrous as far as we are concerned and we totally get that about eachother.
To know that although we are lucky to travel, and even luckier that cancelled trips could be considered a disaster for us…we also create our own luck and pave these beautiful roads for ourselves and walk them, keenly aware that we have mapped out in many ways where they will take us. We carry a compass at all times and adjust based on the eventual goal of where we want to go-despite bumps and obstacles along the way..we get there. And most importantly indulge in every moment and make them the very finest they can be. No matter what.
