Wabi Sabi Vacation

Our first wabi sabi vacation was a huge success. After 10 days away (I can’t bring myself to say it is over. State of mind and all.) we are now back home, safe and sound.

It was long enough for me to forget a few passwords, shake off all the residue of a stressful summer, and has left me feeling like my mind and spirit are a clean slate and I am ready to start again.

With the perfect perspective which hindsight often gives, here are a few things I learned along the way:

1. Prepare as much as possible and then relax and commit to letting each day unfold as it will. It’s good to research and know what’s available, but flexibility adds to the fun and you may have some unexpected adventures.
2. Don’t pack at the last minute. Instead, have everything ready 4-5 days in advance and then two days before leaving, take out half the clothes. Yes, I said “Half!”
3. Take it slow enough to have fun. I’m so glad we had some down days and slow starts (only the children set the alarm so they could get up at 6 am to watch the cartoon marathon) which were especially important to adjust to the change in elevation and avoid altitude sickness (or attitude sickness, if you are traveling with teens
4. Start and end each day with a smile. And smile lots in between. It was quite easy for us as our hotel room had a mountain view and waking up each morning to “purple mountain majesties,” well, a smile on my face and praise in my heart was simply a given.
5. Spend as much time as possible in and doing “the out of the ordinary.” The purpose of vacation is to untap/unclog and fill up/recharge the senses. For us, it meant more time in the mountains and less time waiting in line with tourists. It was really important for me to “fall off the face of the earth” — figuratively, of course! Nothing like perching on a piece of red rock, over looking green trees, under a blue sky, and watching white clouds go by…

One morning on our way to the mountains, a Big said to me, “Our vacation is a class “A” assignment,” which was a reference from the Naruto series. Class “A” assignments are only given to the elite ninja and are special missions to assassinate an enemy or to protect an innocent. Well, we were on our way to knock off the wear and tear of the modern world and revive our spirits in nature, so I guess she was right.

This morning I awoke to a cacophony of lawnmowers and hedge trimmers coming from every direction. I didn’t get the memo, but apparently the neighborhood landscapers had agreed to meet at 10 am on Thursday. It took a few moments for me to identify the source of the noise and understand why the sound was filling my room (I had gone to sleep with the windows open). Yes, we were back in the big city and the world had things to do, places to go and people to see. But I didn’t. In my mind, I’m still perched up on a rock, watching tree tops wave in the wind. So, I smiled and turned over.

Mission accomplished