I am sitting in our car
riding through the mountains of Virginia. I know that there are many people who
love to go on vacation with their families but detest the car ride to get to
their destination. Not me. I love it. It is actually my favorite part of vacation.
I love getting to see the mountains, rolling hills, fields, animals, churches,
houses, and old barns. (I have a thing for old barns!) I like seeing Christmas
trees, peanuts, corn, tomatoes and all variety of vegetables growing in neat
rows. Some big farms and some small, some the size of the row or two that grow
in my yard. I love seeing architecture from years past or months past. I like
seeing old tractors, old cars, beat up old dump trucks and if I happen to see a
’55 Chevy truck, oh my! (I have a thing for those, too!)
All of these things make it
nice to travel by car, but they are not my favorite reason for our trips.
The
best part of traveling this way is time. Time with my husband. Time with my
children. Time to think and reflect and pray where there are no other things
demanding my attention. Time to talk and plan and dream. Time to laugh. Time
for listening to “Adventures in Odyssey” and book recordings.
Our vacations offer something
else that we let get squeezed out in our day to day living… quiet. There are
sometimes hours of no one speaking at all. We are just being together.
Breathing together. Being family. I love that!
I would like to recommend
this for every family. Yes, there are
times when we get grouchy and get on each other’s nerves, but it is funny how
even those times make the fondest of memories.
Thanks Kat! I always enjoyed (and still do) road trips! We did a lot of those as a family and I did several when it was just my mom and me in her later years - she'd say "look at that, look at that!!"
ReplyDeleteI don't have family around anymore and miss those times, but I did have a wonderful time of "quiet" a few weeks ago on my Alaskan cruise! We had been in Glacier Bay all day and I had gone out on the bow of the ship with lots of others to get a closer look. As the captain turned the ship around and started slowly leaving the area, most of the people went back inside. But about 4 of us stayed to enjoy one last look. No one spoke a word and it was at that time that I think I have felt the closest to God in a long time. Just the stillness and peace that was palatable made me tear-up! I praised Him and thanked Him for my many blessings as I enjoyed His beautiful creation. I'll never forget that experience.
May we all have the chance to enjoy "the sound of silence"!
Love ya!
Donna Cousins