First Baptist Church of Herndon

Time of your life

Linda Soller | Jul 22, 2013

Yesterday we started our family vacation at the beach. Based on everyone’s comings and goings there will be nine of us in the same house on any given day. The group swells for a few days in the middle of the two weeks as some take a long weekend. It’s a long standing tradition that we love. We are blessed that we like each other so much. Our children have grown up with this arrangement. There have been multiple beach rentals over the years and the numbers of family members participating have varied considerably, but fundamentally it’s the same family vacation. I don’t think our vacation would make for good reality T.V. First we don’t argue enough, and I don’t think any of us think we are so interesting that someone else would want to watch what we do and say.

On the topic of what we do and say I don’t have much to report. While our activities and conversations have changed over the years they are nothing to write about. There was a time when we all focused on keeping the kids entertained whether they were our kids or not. I remember coming home from vacation needing a vacation. Now our group is all grown up. We sit, read, talk, nap, walk along the beach, sometimes get in the ocean, watch T.V. at night, eat, and well that about covers it. The master plan is to relax and have fun. We no longer worry if someone wants to go out to dinner and another wants to stay in. The toys have evolved from shovels and buckets to IPads, e-readers, and fancy phones. All and all it’s a very civilized vacation. It’s truly a special time that we look forward to.

For some folks this may not seem like much of a vacation. I know lots of people who travel to exotic locations, or who have an itinerary of things to do and places to see. That’s fine if it makes them happy. But for me I just want to shed the routine and pretty much do nothing but whatever strikes my fancy each day. As long as I am with the family I am okay with doing nothing. Here’s the thing, my doing nothing as just described is not the same as me not doing anything. Does that make sense? I am actually doing plenty, it just feels like nothing compared to my normal day. I watch the ocean and listen to the waves hit the shore. I talk with the family members I only seem to see at holidays, weddings, and funerals. I learn about these people who have been and will always be family. It’s amazing what I don’t know, even after all these years. I enjoy the silences, but treasure the laughter. We laugh a lot. I read constantly, knit in between books, and find both to be relaxing. I listen, maybe not as much as I should, and communicate, maybe more than the others would like. Wow, I am busy on vacation.

Vacation makes me look at time differently. For some reason I don’t mind getting up early to walk and make the first pot of coffee. I think it’s because I know I don’t have to do either. I confess I do a little work, but only on my breaks from doing nothing, and then I am just checking emails to stay in the loop. Here again my time is my own to fit the work in, if I have the time. I’m sure you have heard and most likely you would agree that time seems to go faster as we get older. I don’t know if there is a scientific reason, but I can tell you what I think. I think we learn with age that we are here on this earth for a limited time. Each minute of each day, once gone, cannot be brought back again. This awareness brings our attention to those lost moments. Maybe we wish we had done something or maybe we wish we could have time to do nothing. Either way we begin to see time slipping away. So I am wishing you a wonderful day, week, July, and summer. Thank you for using some of your time to read this blog. Don’t forget, this is the time of your life, enjoy and spend it well.

Have a great week :o) Linda