Maine Family Travel: realizing all that is good about it

Found Treasures: moose antler, lobster claw, 'gull feather

I have truly been overwhelmed by the beauty of Maine and the ways in which the landscape recalls some of my best childhood memories growing up in Northern California; I have felt at home here since we arrived. To revisit those good memories while making new ones alongside my young boys has been sublime. I revel in the energy I feel every morning to get an early start on the day. I am motivated in a way I haven’t felt in a while to experience everything. Anticipating tomorrow is a small thrill; I can’t wait for the next beach, trail, or landmark to adventure through. For the last three weeks I've just been soaking it all in; at a loss to find adequate words for the fulfillment of the day, and empty to the bones for extra energy in the evening beyond what is required to plan for tomorrow before the cool sun sets and I’m called by the darkness to rest.

Andy left earlier this week after thirteen days with us. His time spent here was the least connected to his work that he’s ever allowed, and it was an affirmation that he made it so. He loves what he does and is challenged like the rest of us to balance his work life and his family life, especially around time off and vacation. While here, he engaged us in the tightest embrace we've felt in a long time. The conversations we had during the first week that I spent here alone with the kids, and then in the two weeks that we shared together, carved yet another deepening of the intimacy in our marriage. It came about unexpectedly and in a way that leaves me smiling to recognize that this is our friendship and our love for each other manifesting. For the wonder I’ve carried about my ability to see through the lifelong commitment of marriage I finally feel a hush settling in, a sense of inner confidence growing quietly in its place. The years we have left together feel only but a comfort and a privilege.

The kids tell me every day how much they love it here, and I suppose there is something about our being alone together in an unfamiliar place that sparks for them an emergence of our family’s identity. I've noted it in the boys when new friends ask where we’re from and they proudly exclaim Richmond, Virginia! Or when they realize that we say tadpole, and they say polliwog. It’s the sudden urge they feel when they are enjoying something in the moment so much they are compelled to stop and call for a Sears Family huddle, or to belt out into Maine’s great blue sky how much they love us or each other. They are beginning to piece together and communicate what makes us special as a unit and I can feel their gratitude and their joy for this experience. It adds a satisfying layer for me to see this all come to fruition.

We are sad that Poppa is gone and truthfully I could have left on Wednesday with Andy and the boys and a very full heart if we had planned it that way. As I often feel when I am parenting solo and to paraphrase a line from the book I’m reading now: I learn in his absence that I can hack it on my own, and that I prefer not to.

I always find satisfaction in my independence when making things happen and keeping things together, and moving the kids through the day and night on my own two feet; but I miss companionship when I’m alone for long and I’d rather experience all this good stuff (and share the challenges too) with him by my side.

Still, Roscoe and Merritt and I have three weeks more to continue to seek out and revisit other and newly favorited parts of Maine. We’ll be slowing down a bit and making an effort to stay closer to home so we can soak up this Maine Summer as it marches forward.

Our vacation so far has been much more than I expected and everything that I hoped for in terms of building connections with each other, experiencing a new part of the world together, and venturing outside of our comfort zones to grow in ourselves and as a family. It has also piqued my interest to travel more of the United States before considering trips abroad. We have a beautiful and magnificent country right here and I haven't seen most of it. The parts I do know that I love I would also like to see again with the kids so I am curious how our vision for travel over the next year or two will take shape in consideration of what we're learning through this first family travel experience.