A MUSING

The artist always has the masters in his eye.

Ralph Waldo Emerson


Sunday, July 18, 2010

Something. Anything. Nothing. ( Or What We Did Different this Summer Vacation)


This year we added a little something extra to our vacation








It was a simple daily rhythm David practiced on his pilgrimage to Israel.

The only schedule

we were encouraged to follow involved

three things:

something

anything

&

nothing


Something
was to be an intentional, quasi- scheduled event,
done alone
or
with a group.


So needing something to do,

one afternoon we hiked up Amicalola Falls,

6 adults

with 3 children

under 2







Perhaps he's seen too many adventure movies?








Can I get a hoo ha?!







Buoyed by this feat a certain person not especially known to be outdoorsy

birthed a search for more remote, calf-cramping trails, which then required trips by same to the

local North Face store for proper maps and a suitable back pack equipped with -

I kid you not- -

the same hydration gear used by the US military.

Later, to entertain ourselves on the drive home to Florida this person bought a book on thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail called a Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and had me read aloud for 10 straight hours

...but I digress




At times something was an appointment to steal a kiss




Or you got a hankering for a good page turner



Once, something was class 4 rapids for the guys





countered by lunch and spa-hhhing for the girls




You should also know there was a picnic

that had to be sherpa-ed down the mountain

babies and all

to a splendid

sweat inducing, mosquito swatting spot







After dinner we sat around as the sun went down,

to enjoy 2 parts laughter to 1 part conversation,

loosely but intentionally structured to help us unearth

important somethings on our hearts---






Once something included a sweet afternoon
lapping up a sparkling lake


some of us...

literally

















Anything…


was an individual choice to do

whatever you thought you’d enjoy


especially if it involved


a daring whim.






perched on the balcony I read poems

and pulled out my paints

to capture the mountains





and a leaf I found on a trail





Joe and Jon kept a fierce foosball tournament going,

complete with some serious trash talk

about their mama.



Another anything for me


was doing what I love

dreamy wandering

through the tiny town where we

discovered a beautiful interiors store

Gatewood Hall/Gracious Home





And some of us dreamed

we could do anything










We especially liked the idea that food qualified as an anything





Actually

food

came up a lot in this category










And a few of us liked the idea of getting to eat

anything

we wanted







David’s anything always involved the luxury of reading

any book he could get on his ipad

always with his feet propped up.





But doing

Nothing

was what we all liked best




With nothing to do we had plenty of time

to get our walking in





even if it meant after dinner
down the train tracks




It felt good to stand around

doing nothing




A lot of our nothing had to do with magazines





Seems the more we did

nothing

the more we got playful
















It just felt great having nothing to do

and nowhere to be




So we hung around

together

just doing a whole lot of

nothing




because nothing makes the most fun











Mostly

we accomplished our

nothing

with the help of rocking chairs

gazing out at the hills

being lulled by the sound of the river





"Summer afternoon... summer afternoon...

the two most beautiful words in the English language.”

Henry James





9 comments:

  1. This is beautiful Aunt C! You captured everything for your grands! When they get older this will be a wonderful way to tell them of their first vacation with Marmi and G-Daddy!

    -Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOVE it!!! There is something to be said about how so very much is in nothing... :-)
    - Jerryl

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is wonderful! Thanks for sharing. I'm ready to do nothing! :) Hope to see you soon. Patti

    ReplyDelete
  4. Caron, thanks for sharing such exquisite family memories with all of us. It warmed my heart. Glad you all had such a wonderful, renewing time together. Know you all are much loved and appreciated beyond measure. - Tina

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lauren (your sister)July 18, 2010 at 9:52 PM

    Beautifully captured and spoken. I have tears in my eyes because it makes me want to be with those people in that place at this time...thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Glad I was there to do something and anything and nothing. It means everything. Love you. - Catie

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ditto to Lauren's comment. As always you are a gifted communicator. Thanks for sharing! Glad to see you refreshed by some down time as you all give so much to so many throughout the year, Sending you a Texas hug and can't wait to see what you write next as it's always signficant and valuable. Love You!
    Keep up the great job.

    LeAnn Weiss-Rupard

    ReplyDelete
  8. amazing words. Love the new blog. love you.
    Jonny

    ReplyDelete
  9. This was beautiful, funny and inspiring. I loved watching all of you do something, anything, but especially....nothing! ;-)

    ReplyDelete