Traveling and keeping perspective

I'm no globe-trotter. There was a time when my job allowed me to see some really magnificent places. It took me to Kenya and to Europe and all over the U.S. I really appreciate those opportunities. Since having C, R, and A ("the kiddos") it has become much less appealing to take long trips.

Now, I work part-time (soon to be even less time) and I take the shorter, closer-to-home trips. The last one was to do some "ground truthing" in Sarasota County, Florida.

It was lovely. It got me thinking -- when did it happen that traveling doesn't "count" unless country boundaries are crossed? I'm no isolationist -- I believe traveling to other places can be a tremendous learning experience and a whole heck of a lot of fun. In these leaner times, however, I like to remind myself that there are a lot of great things to see and do within my own country, region, state, and town.

At the end of last summer, the kids said they wanted to go to the beach. Living just about as land-locked as anyone outside of Asia can be, I started trying to figure out how we were going to find the time in our schedules to take a long weekend, find the money for plane tickets, not spend too much for a hotel room, and relax long enough to actually have a good time. As I buzzed around, admittedly a bit too frantic, trying to work out the details, my son R said "I don't know why you're all wigging out about going up to the reservoir... it only takes like 15 minutes to get there."

Right. The reservoir. It has a beach. They weren't asking for Maui. They didn't need a cabana boy. They wanted to go dig around the sand/dirt on the swim beach at the local reservoir. Time commitment - 2 hours. Money commitment - annual pass we already have and a few dollars to buy cherry limeades at Sonic on the way home. We had a great time. We even found a dead fish. So there, Maui!

They have simple wants and needs and I want that feeling back again.

We did end up going to "the beach" this year. My cousin was getting married in Myrtle Beach, SC, and it was a chance to see much of my extended family. We stayed in a great house, right on the water (thanks Grandma and Grandpa), spent our days splashing and digging and searching for "the best shells" of which there were many. We attended a beautiful wedding and a astoundingly over-the-top (but still elegant and accessible) reception. In the end, however, it was the time together as a family and the "little things" that made it most special.

I ramble but the point is that I want to enjoy the everyday as much as the "special" - there are just as many one-liners and funny happenings any day - we're just more likely to appreciate them when we slow down enough to notice them.

Such is the goal of the summer of '09.