I don't know if my family would agree with me or not, but this year's summer vacation was one of my favorites. I had been feeling growing stress in our lives and in our relationships with each other, and I really wanted to spend a whole week focused and loving on each other.
As a kid, one of my favorite places on the planet was Hilton Head Island because my family vacationed there frequently. I have so many precious memories from my childhood there, and Tim and I had been talking about taking the kids there someday. I found a great deal on a little condo near the beach, and voila'. HHI here we come.
One of the things I was most looking forward to was the food. (Hudson's... yum.) We ate a lot of my old favorite restaurants (Ben liked my favorite pizza place so much that he said he hoped to take his kids there someday), and we found a few new favorites too (hello, Kenny B's fried shrimp).
Much time was spent swimming, jumping waves, and digging holes in the sand. More than anything, we just spent time together. It was so so good to be free from distractions and to just be. Together. We learned new things about each other. We had important conversations. And we slowed down. Which was awesome. Oh, and did I mention that the condo didn't have internet access? I had no idea how great it would be to be disconnected from the rest of the world. It was awesome. (Have I mentioned that it was awesome?)
I wish we could take trips like that more often. I had no idea how important it would be for me to reconnect with my kids, and I can already feel the stress of the school year, work, and busy schedules pulling at those connections. But my hope is that I will find small ways to recreate those moments where we turn the phones off, look each other in the eye, and talk. Plus, I am still hoping for some time at the beach next summer!
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