Summer is nearing its end. Many families are struggling to fit in that last trip, a before school starts for the kids, one more “few days away” long weekend. Highways will be crowded. Airports will be crowded. Some tempers will be strained. Some joy will be found.
Travel is a favorite subject of ours, going back to one of our first posts, The Middle Seat Hump Syndromefrom June of 2021. A favorite subject but not one often practiced. Diem’s recent travels have been to say goodbye to departed family members. Michael’s last time on the road wasn’t a trip but a long one-day drive to a program where he spoke, ate, and returned. Neither was that last summer trip, family fun break, or get-away weekend. But within them still there was joy.
Something about traveling somewhere for something that does not anticipate happy times makes for an ambivalent start to the excursion. Even traveling for work doesn’t conjure up pleasant anticipation short of the possibility of running into someone whose presence is itself the only pleasant experience that might be expected. Then again, isn’t that the intention of any trip to anywhere for anything.
Diem did not anticipate having a good time at a funeral, particularly given that it was the second such trip in a just a few months. And yet, there was fun. There were serious and somber moments, too many of them for sure. Yet, around them, sometimes within them, were moments of joy and happiness, and expressions of a warmth and hope. People mingled, told stories, ate together, laughed together, remembered times they had with each other or times they wish they could have shared. By the time the days had passed, and she was on the plane heading home, it had become a pleasant trip.
Michael did not anticipate having a good time traveling so far for a few minutes of stage time. Any time he has the chance to speak in front of a welcoming audience is a pleasant experience. The process of getting there though, although not daunting, was not something he was looking forward to. It was laughingly close to consider any alternate means of transport except by car, while still being so far away he’d rather anyone else than him be the driver. And it was raining. When he finally pulled into the parking lot and found his way to the hotel conference rooms he had already met and stopped to talk to four people he hadn’t expected would be there. Although the drive and weather had turned him sullen, the warmth and kindness of those initial encounters smoothed the rough edges of his mind and that set a new tone for the meeting. The day moved from its irritating start to a joyful get-together. By the time the hours had passed, and he was on the road heading home, it had become a pleasant day.
The trips, the reasons for being where we had to be, the travel however long or short or far from home, were not the experiences. It is said, “It is not the destination, it is the journey.” With our apologies to Emerson, it is neither. The experience of any journey, the joy of any destination, is found in the people it is shared with. Yes, even those classic vacations to the beach or the mountains or the theme parks, destinations where there are no people waiting for the travelers, the enjoyment is in the sharing of the event. That which is shared within the families on the vacation, among the kids on that last break, between the couple enjoying a getaway weekend is truly what matters.
These last few days of summer will be busy ones for many trying for that one last break in the routine. Highways will be crowded. Airports will be crowded. Some tempers will be strained. Some joy will be found. Check that. Much joy will be found. Found not where we will be. Found in those who will be with us. Even on a trip as short as to the back porch.
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