Yes Virginia, There is a Vacation - Views from a Summer Road Trip

Yes Virginia, there is a vacation.

And…It has arrived-- the eve of our Virginia Road trip. The Robby and Lindsay wedding event extravaganza.

The car is packed. The lists have been gone through and reviewed hundreds of times….And although the excitement in my house has reached its peak, all I can feel is anxiety flowing through my veins.

“Road trip! We will make a memorable vacation out of this! It will be great!” he says with a huge “kid in a candy store” smile. My blue eyed husband then hands me a map and a well thought out itinerary.

I sigh, trying to hide my exasperated expression. I tuck the map and itinerary under my arm with the other multitude of lists and paperwork that I need to review before calling it a night.

Sadly, I am exhausted just from the months of preparation and packing that this trip has required. I feel a shiver as I imagine traveling through nine states – approximately 1,900 miles round trip -- in a mini-van with four kiddos.

The words “vacation” and “great” are hanging in the air in little bubbles over my husband’s head … I’m feeling skeptical.

It has been something that has happened over the last few years. I had begun to believe less and less in the magic of – a vacation.

I was just not so sure that “vacations” existed anymore.  Unfortunately they just seemed to good to be true – like a mirage in the dessert,  gold at the end of a rainbow,  or like believing in Santa Clause  -- at least that is what going on vacation was becoming for me.

Vacations are both a blessing and a curse. Blessed because we are able to even entertain the thought both financially and physically – and cursed because they require quite a bit of work with four kiddos in tow.

“What’s packed is packed. If we forget something, then so be it.. Don’t worry yourself so much,” he says to me as he catches a glimmer of my disappointingly overwhelmed expression..

My husband’s smile turns slightly as he pulls me into him and hugs me in attempt to reassure me.

And although I appreciated his encouragement, I was reluctant to feel relieved.

We had been planning and saving for this trip. A trip – inspired by the fact that our youngest son was to play the very important role as ring bearer in a wedding event we would not miss for the world… And afterwards... the scheduled visit we had planned with dear friends of ours in North Carolina.

However,  I kept thinking that it might just be simpler to leave the three kiddos home with family and fly  my husband and my  youngest child to Virginia for the wedding and call it a day.

But then I would have missed it...

The magic that I forgot existed….

The magic that comes from generations of cousins meeting each other for the first time, the magic of watching my husband interact with his brothers and only sister. The laughter that would burst from the grandparents, aunts and uncles that watched in amazement at their grown children, nieces and nephews…  

The things that make being a part of a family worthwhile, the sharing of stories you have heard hundreds of times, but never get old… The uninterrupted moments of wonder that present themselves when you least expect it..

The reminder that the world is bigger than just the little town that you dwell in day to day… and that your blessings in life are more numerous than you realize… 

That life is challenging, and surprising, ugly and beautiful... And that we are not alone in this realization.

That the bonds of friendship stretch beyond the miles and years... And sharing moments together is one of the greatest gifts.

Yes, I guess that means I found a vacation.

A trip filled with wild ponies and horseshoe crabs, boat rides and scenic views... A trip that required a slower pace and a refreshed perspective..

One that offered me beautiful views of my family and friends -- Of silent strength and courage and love.

One can never tire at these sort of views. The ones that no camera can capture. The ones that you have to look for, and record with your minds eye and store in your heart.

This vacation offered these types of views... Like ones shared between a mother and son on his wedding day..Between a husband and his new wife... A vision of the strength and integrity of friends who have weathered storms such as cancer and more -- only to stay true to who they are -- and have always been.

Such beauty can never quite be captured... Even these words do not do them justice..

Humbled I am -- once again.

But, it is true -- I found a vacation. One that allowed me and my husband to take our children on a walk down a fondly filled memory lane, of times and people both present and past…   

So glad... And, yes --

I still believe.