Clinging to Estes

Vacations are usually adventures that we all anticipate with expectation. Much time is spent making decisions, arranging travel logistics, discerning the cost, and carving out the proper time. Recently my husband and I were invited to be guests at an incredible mountain home in Estes Park, Colorado. Our summer vacation did not go as planned. We were rising from a season of grief. The company we would be spending time with were treasured friends. The scenery could not be topped. We didn’t think twice when we booked the flights.

Some vacations do not measure up to the expectations. When returning home one can feel exhausted and in need of a vacation after the vacation. Because of those experiences I intentionally work to not set the bar high, to accept whatever is to be, is what it is supposed to be.

Throughout the weekend, I experienced a great deal of emotions, frustration, hurt, annoyance, fear, worry, insecurity, rejection, helplessness, empowerment, inspirational, bravery, curiosity, creativity, energetic, hopeful, joyful, love, connection, calmness, safety, reflective, relaxed, trusting and trusted, and overflowing gratitude! With all of that occurring within, one could think that this vacation would drain my energy. Actually, quite the opposite happened, and I felt more alive than I had been in a very long time. We are talking prepandemic. Something had been lifted off my burdened shoulders. My grief dam burst.

Somehow this trip gave me the freedom to take His yoke upon me and find rest for my soul.

Now, how do I keep it? I want to cling to this lightness that I feel. Can we carry the healing energy from our vacations into the future? Isn’t that really the true value of taking a vacation? With the amount of anxiety that most people in this world are carrying wouldn’t “keeping the vacation alive in our demeanor” be a valuable tool in managing our lives? The worldwide stress is not leaving any time soon. We should not hide it, justify it, or reject it. We must learn to manage it.

Photographs and reminiscing can help remind us of the treasured memories. Even friends on Facebook can trigger our experience when they share their majestic photos of the yellow Aspin trees, the spectacular elk rutting or a special bar where a rehearsal dinner was held.

With an interior yearning for more opportunity to maintain a vacation view of the world, what else can I do?

I am going to treasure my daily walks by enjoying the beauty that sometimes I take for granted, the beauty in my own neighborhood and local forests.

I’m going to look for regional field trips to explore new experiences.

I’m going to interact in my daily activities with people in a vacation mindset, one that is looking to connect rather than check a task off my list.

On the days that my schedule is not taken up with commitments, I’m going to see where the day leads, remaining open to new opportunities and reject my desire to fill in with tasks that may not be the best use of time.

Can you add to this list? Are there ways you have learned to keep the joy of the vacation alive for longer than the time spent away from home?