Saying Goodbye to our Special Place

We all have that special place— “our happy place” as I’ve seen it referred to in scrap books and TV commercials. It’s a place where our kids are free to be themselves, to run around with abandon because their friends aren’t watching. A place I don’t wear makeup because my friends aren’t watching. We all have these places where we’ve made great memories for our families. The kids stay up late playing cards or eating ice cream. We watch movies in bed. We wake up late and stay on the porch too long. 

Maybe it’s because we’re on vacation and left the day-to-day back at home- the rushing around and the housework; the “should dos” instead of the “can dos.” Maybe it’s because the place is full of other people on vacation and everyone is in a good mood— a spending mood, a laughing mood.

Where would we be without these places? We all need to recharge. We need to find a place that is just enough “other” that we can encounter the extraordinary in ourselves and our families. Siblings play with each other and spouses hold hands. It’s just that perfect place and it’s ours for a week or two, or maybe a weekend, or maybe the summer.

I was feeling indulgent to come to our place for six weeks, even doubting if I could find enough to do— learn enough, see enough and explore enough. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I felt like I had to justify this big trip and this long vacation. With such a big investment of time and money, I put pressure on myself to demonstrate some returns— improved French, better manners, seasoned travelers. When Taylor arrived, I set aside the agenda and planned a family vacation for the week that he was here. 

We did all of those things we always do on family vacations. When he left, the boys and I just stayed in vacation mode. We went on side trips and spoke French. But in letting go of my desire (my worry?) to find enough to do, I could just be in this special place.  I remembered that these places have their own magic because of the shared experiences of a family, whether we’re learning or seeing or exploring, we are being — together.

As I pack up the swimsuits (and the macarons, and the tuna belly, and the olives), I realize that this special place always comes through for us: it gives us confidence and freedom, it helps us find what we love in each other and it brings out the best in us.