Together Time

Just got off the phone with Sis who just returned home from a long awaited vacation with her husband and teenager. Her voice sounded tired (they got home late and the unpacking, laundry ritual was in progress) but contented. The week together had accomplished the goal - to give them time together as a family to bond and just BE. They got reacquainted with one another - and (thankfully) they liked what they found.

Family vacation time is underrated. I was fortunate enough to have many memory-moulding holidays with my children. At the time it was often a daunting money sucker but I can say with complete honesty that I have never regretted a penny spent on a vacation. Any one who is a parent knows how quickly those years pass; the opportunity is finite and fleeting. We learn things about ourselves when we are removed from our daily routines and entertainment outlets. We actually have to talk to one another. We argue; we laugh; we sing; we tease; we complain; we share. Many years after the fact my girls and I sit around chuckling over vacation adventures, reliving precious - priceless - moments. Nothing can beat the power of a shared experience.

If you ask any of us what our favourite memory is, we will all answer the same: the night we dined on a rooftop in Santorini, Greece, full moon floating over the caldera, fire fly flickers and twinkles from the other cliff side-clinging rooftops, and Greek music drifting in the background. It was a magical moment and we all knew it. I told them that night that "it doesn't get any better than this".

But you know what -- it can and does. Together time -- for all time.

(Now I am off to my together time with hubby (what was that I said about family time??) - so I better shut down this vacuum cleaner and laptop. Yes I was multi- tasking!)