Summer
Journey
“A
journey is a person in itself; and no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards,
policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle, that we
do not take a trip; the trip takes us.”
John
Steinbeck
Summer’s
coming. So many of us who have been confined for a year and a half and are now
vaccinated, will be hitting the road to see the people we love in far-distant
places. Travel, especially with children, is never easy. Everybody gets tired
and grouchy. Kids start sniping and complaining and asking to stop to go to the
bathroom every ten miles. My dad’s solution to that was a coffee can!
When I
was married, we took trips to a family summer house on Block Island, and yes,
we drove—from Birmingham to Point Judith, RI, and then took a ferry across to
the island. Sometimes we were able to stop and spend a little time sight-seeing,
but, more often than not, it was just “second star to the right and straight
on ‘til morning.” (J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan) We usually managed to be jolly
during the first leg of this trip, but things went downhill pretty fast after
that. Somebody got an ear infection, or threw up, or couldn’t hold it, or—anyone
who’s traveled with children knows how to finish this list.
Suffice it to say, you
can plan the daylights out of travel, and there will always be unexpected
events. On one trip to the Caribbean, the island’s phone system went down
cutting off all communication for three days; on another to Guatemala my money
ran out before we could find an exchange; on one to Costa Rico, the GPS stopped
working ten miles outside San Juan, and we were lost for most of a day. Foreign
travel is less magical to me now.
And yet, we all love to
travel, don’t we? Especially now after the long confinement. We are willing to
put up with all sorts of discomfort and unreasonable snarls to go someplace we
love, to see people we love. Life is like that, too. Hopefully, it is a long journey,
filled with unexpected events. If you are a control freak, it’s going to be rough
on you. But if you can let go and just allow life to take its course, welcoming
each day as it comes, you may find that it holds magical experiences and
beautiful people. If you can let life show you the way, there will be lessons
aplenty, and refreshment for your soul. Your patience will be tested for sure,
but your heart will be happy.
If you are traveling this
summer, I hope you have a wonderful, and happily uneventful journey. And I hope
no coffee cans are involved.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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