It is so strange to find yourself in a place where it is radical to dream of a bigger life. A year ago I was enjoying a beautiful life with my life partner and our three happy children. One year ago we spent several nights at the Oregon coast, ducking into a coffee shop to avoid the wettest part of a downpour, flying kites, laughing, digging holes, drinking coffee, taking lots of photos of blue skies and happy faces.
This year, without my children's "Papa" (daddy) we four returned to the coast for a few nights. We dug holes, laughed, rested, and avoided rain showers, but it was... different. We miss our sweet Papa very much. We would give most of what we have to go back to the day before diagnosis. But we can't. We have watched him die and know we cannot ask for him to come back to us in the same way. We know we get to continue living and falling in love with these new lives we get to live together. This is a privilege we do not take for granted.
This year we put our own twist on our beach vacation. The kids helped pack and unpack much more than usual. They were responsible for their own clothing and I didn't check to make sure they remembered everything. While our big kids brought everything for themselves, I forgot to pack our wee one's shoes and my own underwear (found in the suitcase upon unpacking at home). Fun times. We brought real shovels, short metal versions of the standard kind. We dug holes big enough to put whole adults into. We buried one adult in one such wet hole. We spent a whole day with my parents, two dogs, and two whole days with friends. We invited friends to spend the night with us at the hotel. We purchased little toys and trinkets and wall decor to support local shops and artists. We stayed as long as we pleased on our last day and didn't mind the heavy traffic on the way home. We revel in the sand still tucked into our pockets.
We are talking of global travel. My oldest daughter said she wanted to travel to every continent in one year. She thankfully modified that to be accomplished in one decade. In dreaming of worldschooling, we've been partaking in the book Lonely Planet's Where To Go When. So many ideas, so many dreams! We may start with Thailand. While we await international travel, we have many trips planned within our own country, to visit family both local and distant. In dreaming of getting on an airplane and surrounding ourselves in different cultures, cuisines, and time zones, our planning has become our play. We are contacting friends in other countries and sharing our traveling dreams with them: Canada, Uruguay, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Australia, France, Taiwan, Korea. It may take a decade, perhaps more, but we are currently thrilled with the dream of seeing the whole world, connecting with our global family, and simultaneously deepening our existing relationships (with self and other). The world is awaiting our exploration and laughter and little toes, and it is such a gift to get to dream of flying out to embrace it all. As I often like to shout from my porch, "Look out, World! We are coming to getcha!"
This year, without my children's "Papa" (daddy) we four returned to the coast for a few nights. We dug holes, laughed, rested, and avoided rain showers, but it was... different. We miss our sweet Papa very much. We would give most of what we have to go back to the day before diagnosis. But we can't. We have watched him die and know we cannot ask for him to come back to us in the same way. We know we get to continue living and falling in love with these new lives we get to live together. This is a privilege we do not take for granted.
This year we put our own twist on our beach vacation. The kids helped pack and unpack much more than usual. They were responsible for their own clothing and I didn't check to make sure they remembered everything. While our big kids brought everything for themselves, I forgot to pack our wee one's shoes and my own underwear (found in the suitcase upon unpacking at home). Fun times. We brought real shovels, short metal versions of the standard kind. We dug holes big enough to put whole adults into. We buried one adult in one such wet hole. We spent a whole day with my parents, two dogs, and two whole days with friends. We invited friends to spend the night with us at the hotel. We purchased little toys and trinkets and wall decor to support local shops and artists. We stayed as long as we pleased on our last day and didn't mind the heavy traffic on the way home. We revel in the sand still tucked into our pockets.
We are talking of global travel. My oldest daughter said she wanted to travel to every continent in one year. She thankfully modified that to be accomplished in one decade. In dreaming of worldschooling, we've been partaking in the book Lonely Planet's Where To Go When. So many ideas, so many dreams! We may start with Thailand. While we await international travel, we have many trips planned within our own country, to visit family both local and distant. In dreaming of getting on an airplane and surrounding ourselves in different cultures, cuisines, and time zones, our planning has become our play. We are contacting friends in other countries and sharing our traveling dreams with them: Canada, Uruguay, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Australia, France, Taiwan, Korea. It may take a decade, perhaps more, but we are currently thrilled with the dream of seeing the whole world, connecting with our global family, and simultaneously deepening our existing relationships (with self and other). The world is awaiting our exploration and laughter and little toes, and it is such a gift to get to dream of flying out to embrace it all. As I often like to shout from my porch, "Look out, World! We are coming to getcha!"
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| Life with Papa |
