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Sunday, May 4, 2014

Some Vacations should never End!

Bermuda. Not a lot of real estate, but it's heaven, nontheless.

I offer this bit of advice to all who will listen: Never let a lot of time pass without having face to face experience between yourself and your family and friends. They are simply too important in our lives, and in fact, they make us who and what we are.

I have just returned from a trip that was a series of family and friends reunions strung together.  I am overwhelmed by this feeling of fullness and richness and wellness. Having heard from family and friends, they feel the same sensations, so obviously having made the time and effort to get together it worked to everyone's benefit.

The mistake that we, as individuals make is that we think we are not critically important to others. We are naturally modest and that leads us to think in such terms, however, as part of a family we all play our part to make up the whole.

For instance, during this visit I finally got to meet my Great Granddaughter. I am the only Great granddad that she has, and she is my first, and my one and only great anything, so was that meeting important? It certainly was to me and by her reaction I think it was for her as well. She is nine years old! It has taken nine years for us to meet in person. That's not right! I should have made more of an effort to have brought us together sooner.

The man who is my friend since we were infants turned up in Bermuda after an absence of more than thirty years. It was not coincidence that led me to him as he lay in the hospital. We had fabulous face to face time which we may not have the opportunity to repeat. How special is that?

Another friend has had a run of very bad luck. Being able to sit together and talk things through is what being a friend is for. We were able to do that, which may have helped him to face his challenges. I certainly do hope so.

The other reason we should make a point of a yearly get together is that things change. People change. After a long period of time has passed I have to be very careful how I approach people. I just can't ask a woman how's your husband? Oh, he died! Or to ask a man, how's your wife? Don't talk to me about her. We're getting a divorce! How do I recover from such situations? It's not possible to do so.

Family and friends. If only we had more of both, but the ones we do have we should treasure more than anything material, because that is their worth, even if we don't always realize it. Call me sentimental, please!

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael