My friend Tracie and her family are enjoying Spring Break on the east coast. I was enthralled by the photo she sent of their sandcastle fortress. Her vacation journal embodies the message to "be here now."
A message I can't overlook as my neighbor's husband (only 68 years old) died this month from a rare form of leukemia. My neighbor told me that in December they enjoyed a cruise with their adult children, a vacation they almost passed up. Now she treasures those last days together. There is no better Easter reminder than to share sorrow and live joy with those around us.
Tracie's Vacation Blog:
Here the beach beckons in a way it doesn’t at other vacation destinations. Here, I don’t worry if my hair is a mess or I’m full of sand. I don’t worry about flabby thighs that might be seen or whether my shoes match my suit. My mystery novel, normally my version of heaven, sits unread in the beach chair and umbrella I’ve rented for the day. Instead, my kids and my husband, fully engaged in building a sand castle beckon to me and I realize that right here, right now is my life. And that sitting in this chair reading this book is not where I want to be. My kids are out there, the sun is out there, the man I love most in the world is out there and the last place I want to be is sitting on the sidelines watching it all go by.
And so I dig and I build and I offer decorating tips to the castle builders. And I smile and make small talk to the people who pass by and comment on our masterpiece. And I realize that sometimes relaxing isn’t sitting in a chair reading a novel and sipping a drink. Sometimes relaxing is jumping in with both feet, getting gritty from sand and sticky from salt and laughing and smiling until my face hurts.
