May allowed us to take a little break from the routine and the hussle that we've been experiencing for the past several months, so we used some of our accumulated airmiles and flew out to the coast for five days. There were a few reasons for out breakaway. One was that we sit on the network of a gentleman with an intellectual disability who now lives in the community, but spent the majority of his childhood and adult years living in an institution. He had been saving for his dream vacation of seeing the west coast for almost five years. We had planned to go out with him last year to support him in fulfilling this dream, but three days before we were to leave, my Dad has his stroke, and our lives changed forever. Our friend was very understanding of the situation that we'd been put in and we postponed the trip. It was decided that this year we had to make his dream happen, so we arranged a staff person to go with him so that he could drive out and take in all the sights he'd been envisioning. In helping him to plan the trip, we realized that we really had been looking forward to being with him when he experienced so many new things, and he'd made it clear that he'd been looking forward to sharing the adventure with us last year, so we decided to do what we could, and flew out to meet him for the whale watching, the first taste of crab, the Victoria wax museum and harbor. It was a small part of his journey, but it was wonderful to be able to share that and fulfill the commitment that we'd made to him. It was also really heartwarming to watch the eyes of a 52 year old man light up like a child's soaking it all in and savoring the reality of his dream.
The second phase of our getaway was to have an early anniversary seafood dinner. My brother made the mistake of telling my husband about this great buffet they had been to in Washington state, where there was the biggest, most succulent pile of king crab legs you'd ever seen! You don't tell my husband about things like that without causing some sort of stir! So we justified it by piggybacking it on the trip with our friend and a visit with my brother. Thank goodness for the airmiles is all I can say!
The little breakaway was great, but for some reason, this time I just couldn't wait to get home to my little corner of the world. There seemed to be more noise, more people, and more traffic than I ever recall...or maybe nothing's changed except that I now realize where I'm meant to be and what it is that soothes my spirit. Regardless, no matter how much we enjoyed the events that drew us out there, returning home was sweeter than I ever recall it being. In fact as I sit here writing, I have my office window open. There's a slight drizzle of rain, and a chorus of birds singing their hearts out. In amongst thier symphony, I just heard the first vehicle drive down our road that I've heard so far today, excluding the bus that picks Shane up for school. Now that's my kind of traffic jam! Mybe it's just that everyday I'm just reminded a little more about how blessed I am with where I live and what I do have right here. John Denver said it best...it is good to be back home again!
Later,
Lynda
www.musicwriter.ca
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