Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Off again

Time for a late summer trip to visit family and enjoy the beautiful northwest. But first there are many miles to travel through barren desert landscapes of Nevada, Idaho and Washington before we reach our destination. Guess we could all say that about our own daily life. Routines strung between significant events. Life is the journey to our goal-whatever we have decided that it is in our life or if we have decided. I believe my goal in this life is and always has been to have an "eternal family" bound together by love and shared experiences. That becomes harder and takes more effort to create with divorces in the family, and when we don't share the same household with our offspring, thus comes the necessity of traveling either in real space and time or connecting in virtual reality through the Internet. (Photo of my Grandma Johnson center in top photo with her sisters.)


Emails are fun but...nothing is the same as looking into a family member's face and hugging them while expressing your love and interest in their lives. Too bad we don't live closer but opportunities beckon our young ones and soon they are off on their own adventures in new locations. Holidays, special occasions-marriage, deaths, etc and reunions can give us the excuse to come together as an extended family IF that's a value we have in our life. May we all realize that even with our own and other family members' imperfections, FAMILY is what it's all about. (Photo of my dad as a baby, held by his father Joseph Harold Vernon, and L-his grandmother Sarah Elizabeth Malin Vernon and R-his great grandmother Alice Melissa Smith Malin.)

9 comments:

  1. Have a safe trip. Your destination sounds like a wonderful time.

    Life IS a journey isn't it, sometimes we choose which road to take and other times, it's chosen for us. We have to trust ourselves as to whether we are traveling in the right direction or not. But sometimes a detour happens and it may be a blessing.

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  2. I can be difficult to see far-flung family members as often as we like, but I agree that it is very important. I am often jealous of my sister whose 5 children and 12 grandchildren (2 more coming) are within 30 minutes of her home.

    Those of us with loved ones farther away must make a bigger effort, by car or plane or SKYPE, to stay close. It is so worth it.

    Good journey, Lin.

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  3. Have a lovely trip and bring back more stories for us......time spent with the family are the best time ..all the pictures are in very good condition even after such a long time,enjoyed them a lot especially your dad's as a baby

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  4. Have a wonderful trip. Connections of the heart. And in Caryn's own words, I wish you the joy of amae --- she just posted about it.

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  5. Have a safe trip, Lin, and enjoy making those family re-connections!

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  6. Have a wonderful time, and may the traveling miles fly by and the hugging begin!!

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  7. Welcome to the northwest! I've traveled that route of big spaces between Utah/Colorado and Seattle several times by car. It can be tedious, but also amazing, stark contrasts and endless sameness. As you say, much like life, but every day an adventure.

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  8. I think a primary advantage of email is that time is of no consequence. That helps stay in touch. But it's cold and dreary, too. You can't hug an email!

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  9. Well..You have inspired me to start looking at some old photos and I found some in a small box in my closet...

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