We got back on Monday night from the BEST vacation ever, in beautiful Virginia. We have had some very good vacations to family reunions on my dad's side of the family every other year, the last being in 2010, 3 weeks after my dear dad passed away. I still think about him every day, and ponder the comments of a stranger at his memorial service, and of my dear brother, that he was a Boddhisatva. (Look it up - he was not a Buddhist, but his life example fits the definition!) (Okay, I will give you a hint: it has to do with being focused on helping others to grow.)
What made this trip the best yet was Extreme Family. We got to connect with family on my dad's side, my mom, my brother and his boys, and family on my husband's side, and the special family that consists of old friends that treat you like royalty and family at the same time. During this 10 intense days I was energized by a nearly constant sense of wonder, joy, and gratitude over the simple beauty of spending time together.
My mom is turning 80. As part of her celebration, she invited us to vacation together based in two time share condo units in Williamsburg, one for my family and one for her and my brother and kids. They turned out to have broken Internet, which was lucky for us as this is a nearly fatal condition for my family of heavy users. But the brokenness led to more time together as they came over to our place so that my brother could finish online stuff for his summer physics courses. He is a brilliant man who teaches physics at a community college that is switching from quarters to semesters, giving him only one week off between terms, the condo week being that week! So it was grand to have him just sitting at our table plugging away to get his work done, with some good discussion and alcohol around the edges. His boys showed my 13-year-old how to play World of Warcraft, which I shall describe as a Dungeons and Dragons version of Webkins - a type of online fantasy for older kids and teens with all kinds of magical creatures, quests, and battles. It was good bonding done between her and her 10- and 8-year-old cousins AND her uncle, because he also knows how to play and was able to provide consultation as needed. On my part, I enjoyed being the nice aunt who could give permission to watch TV in my room to nephews who are limited to 30 minutes of screen time daily at home. (I think that is great - too late for my kids!) I also enjoyed making sure I could take them to the pool once and making sure they knew about and got to experience the amazing arcade rooms at our resort. Plus I got to entice them to share our applesauce, our baked potatoes, cranberry juice, and our horrible sugary chocolate cereal. And I was treated to viewing the stop action movies the 10-year-old has made with a camera, patience, legos, and iMovie on his dad's laptop, some with help from the 8-year-old - well done!
We had one quick hourlong visit to Jamestown to see a replica Powhatan village, English ships, and an English fort. All was fascinating. We had a packed and somewhat hot day at Colonial Williamsburg where we lunched together but otherwise split up to enjoy different activities somewhere by age. And we enjoyed a sedate and content birthday celebration for Mom at the King's Arms Tavern, where we sampled recipes from the 1700s and were served by people in period costume. An actor came in wearing this attire and talked about the history of the house in an accent of the day. It was delightful. Even though we must recall that the revolutionaries were not completely democratic as they were mainly taking over the colonizing effort from the Brits and not establishing rights for blacks or Native Americans or women. The gentleman in costume looked around the room of six or seven parties and noted, "Ah, I see you've brought the ladies this evening. No doubt there will be dancing after dining!" Then he made eye contact with our beautiful 13-year-old, who had her eyes riveted on his performance. He engaged her with the question, "Miss, you don't look as if you are from these parts. From whence do you hail?" Without missing a beat, she replied, "I am from Texas." He replied equally quickly, "Ah - a Spaniard!" We and the rest of the guests laughed heartily. He made a few closing remarks before bowing and departing. Our son, who is a film major and an aspiring actor, got into period character and began conversing with us in a similar manner. It was fun!
There were several Boddhisatvas encountered. The Jamestown tour netted a woman expert in shaping tools such as sewing needles from deer bone and another who knew all about estuary grass matts for dwelling covers. The guide at the ship replica and another at the fort replica had a deep knowledge and appreciation of their subject matters, and with a somewhat enlightened view of the "relationship" between the settlers and the indigenous people. Parallels to Palestine and Israel abounded and my husband's culture was better appreciated by the girls. My mom has been generous in supporting her two kids in their higher ed quests and planning for the support of her grandchildren in their future and current college careers. She has been equally generous in bestowing vacation accommodations upon us every two years for awhile. We had several chances for good dialogue. She even read me a hilarious chapter from a detective novel. My brother's presence and commentaries are always educational or amusing in the most surprising and delightful ways. My kids all enjoyed hanging out with everyone. Our son got to show his grandmother some of his hip hop music documentary examples. Our 20-year-old daughter got to reconnect with my brother and his boys which was good after having spent fall term in Ohio and seeing them frequently and then returning to Texas in January. My husband was purring to be near such good human beings all week, and enjoyed a vigorous healing massage from his talented brother-in-law. How is that for a package - a physics "perfessor" AND a masseuse! All the kids were on good behavior and everyone got along.
It was a grand, grand time, the best of times, and the best of the best times.
What made this trip the best yet was Extreme Family. We got to connect with family on my dad's side, my mom, my brother and his boys, and family on my husband's side, and the special family that consists of old friends that treat you like royalty and family at the same time. During this 10 intense days I was energized by a nearly constant sense of wonder, joy, and gratitude over the simple beauty of spending time together.
My mom is turning 80. As part of her celebration, she invited us to vacation together based in two time share condo units in Williamsburg, one for my family and one for her and my brother and kids. They turned out to have broken Internet, which was lucky for us as this is a nearly fatal condition for my family of heavy users. But the brokenness led to more time together as they came over to our place so that my brother could finish online stuff for his summer physics courses. He is a brilliant man who teaches physics at a community college that is switching from quarters to semesters, giving him only one week off between terms, the condo week being that week! So it was grand to have him just sitting at our table plugging away to get his work done, with some good discussion and alcohol around the edges. His boys showed my 13-year-old how to play World of Warcraft, which I shall describe as a Dungeons and Dragons version of Webkins - a type of online fantasy for older kids and teens with all kinds of magical creatures, quests, and battles. It was good bonding done between her and her 10- and 8-year-old cousins AND her uncle, because he also knows how to play and was able to provide consultation as needed. On my part, I enjoyed being the nice aunt who could give permission to watch TV in my room to nephews who are limited to 30 minutes of screen time daily at home. (I think that is great - too late for my kids!) I also enjoyed making sure I could take them to the pool once and making sure they knew about and got to experience the amazing arcade rooms at our resort. Plus I got to entice them to share our applesauce, our baked potatoes, cranberry juice, and our horrible sugary chocolate cereal. And I was treated to viewing the stop action movies the 10-year-old has made with a camera, patience, legos, and iMovie on his dad's laptop, some with help from the 8-year-old - well done!
We had one quick hourlong visit to Jamestown to see a replica Powhatan village, English ships, and an English fort. All was fascinating. We had a packed and somewhat hot day at Colonial Williamsburg where we lunched together but otherwise split up to enjoy different activities somewhere by age. And we enjoyed a sedate and content birthday celebration for Mom at the King's Arms Tavern, where we sampled recipes from the 1700s and were served by people in period costume. An actor came in wearing this attire and talked about the history of the house in an accent of the day. It was delightful. Even though we must recall that the revolutionaries were not completely democratic as they were mainly taking over the colonizing effort from the Brits and not establishing rights for blacks or Native Americans or women. The gentleman in costume looked around the room of six or seven parties and noted, "Ah, I see you've brought the ladies this evening. No doubt there will be dancing after dining!" Then he made eye contact with our beautiful 13-year-old, who had her eyes riveted on his performance. He engaged her with the question, "Miss, you don't look as if you are from these parts. From whence do you hail?" Without missing a beat, she replied, "I am from Texas." He replied equally quickly, "Ah - a Spaniard!" We and the rest of the guests laughed heartily. He made a few closing remarks before bowing and departing. Our son, who is a film major and an aspiring actor, got into period character and began conversing with us in a similar manner. It was fun!
There were several Boddhisatvas encountered. The Jamestown tour netted a woman expert in shaping tools such as sewing needles from deer bone and another who knew all about estuary grass matts for dwelling covers. The guide at the ship replica and another at the fort replica had a deep knowledge and appreciation of their subject matters, and with a somewhat enlightened view of the "relationship" between the settlers and the indigenous people. Parallels to Palestine and Israel abounded and my husband's culture was better appreciated by the girls. My mom has been generous in supporting her two kids in their higher ed quests and planning for the support of her grandchildren in their future and current college careers. She has been equally generous in bestowing vacation accommodations upon us every two years for awhile. We had several chances for good dialogue. She even read me a hilarious chapter from a detective novel. My brother's presence and commentaries are always educational or amusing in the most surprising and delightful ways. My kids all enjoyed hanging out with everyone. Our son got to show his grandmother some of his hip hop music documentary examples. Our 20-year-old daughter got to reconnect with my brother and his boys which was good after having spent fall term in Ohio and seeing them frequently and then returning to Texas in January. My husband was purring to be near such good human beings all week, and enjoyed a vigorous healing massage from his talented brother-in-law. How is that for a package - a physics "perfessor" AND a masseuse! All the kids were on good behavior and everyone got along.
It was a grand, grand time, the best of times, and the best of the best times.
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