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“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (The Bible)
Today . . . it’s time to leave.
Sitting outside on the apartment balcony, I overlook the gorgeous Mediterranean Sea. The sun has just risen over the pier.
Mountains surround me on the other sides. Seagulls call to each other and soar all around me.
I’m enjoying a cup of café con leche and toast with butter and jam.
It’s time to leave.
We left our home in Spain six days ago for some time away as a family. It’s rare. We never do this. I honestly can’t remember the last time we had vacation as a family.
Much Needed, Much Overdue
It was much needed, long overdue.
We have had a beautiful time together—morning walks with Bernie on the boardwalk, playing soccer on the beach, cards and board games at night, tapas and drinks in the evenings, dinners in and dinners out, champagne to “ring in the new year,” drives along the coast, fun shopping in American grocery stores, wandering the cobblestone streets of quaint Spanish mountain villages, admiring the Christmas lights and decorations . . .
It’s been fun, and that’s what our family needed.
The sea and mountains have been refreshing.
Missing It
Our family lived on the Atlantic Ocean for seven years while living in Morocco. We are familiar with the smell of ocean air and the sound of waves and seagulls.
When you have lived by the water, and you leave . . . you miss it
I will miss it.
It’s time to leave.
Lasts
We are living in the “Days of Lasts.”
We played our last board game last night, we took our last morning walk with Bernie on the boardwalk, we had our last drink at the café, we enjoyed our last breakfast on the balcony overlooking the sea.
It’s time to leave.
The suitcases are packed, the beds are left unmade, the refrigerator is empty, the car is almost loaded . . .
It’s time to leave.
Vacation is over. How can it be?
It seems like just yesterday we were packing our suitcases, locking up our house, and loading the car. It seems like just yesterday that we were driving five hours down south, patiently waiting in standstill traffic, anticipating a week away as a family by the sea.
It’s time to leave.
Vacation is over.
Today
Today, we drive back up north. We leave the sea. We leave the rest and relaxation.
It’s time to leave.
The time has come to go back to normal life routine, our house far away from the sea. It’s time for the boys to begin school again. Doing dirty laundry and packing lunches await me. It’s time for us to go back to work. Vacation is over. The holidays are over.
It’s time to leave.
I don’t know if I will ever walk on this stretch of boardwalk, have this view of the sea, or gaze on this particular mountain peak.
I don’t know if I will ever come back.
My phone storage is overloaded with amazing photos. I’ve breathed in all the sea air my lungs can contain and gazed on more beauty than my eyes and heart can behold.
Thankful. I’m grateful. I’ve been here.
Now, it’s time to leave. Goodbye Sea. Goodbye Mountains.
I don’t want to go, but . . .
It’s time to leave.
—THE CULTURAL STORY-WEAVER
My Gift to You—GET YOUR FREE EBOOK—“ THE 5-DAY JOURNEY TO CULTURAL AWARENESS”!
LET’S WEAVE CULTURES!
Do you remember your last vacation or your last travel experience? Remember the excitement before the trip? Remember the day when it was all over, and it was time to leave? How did you feel about going back home? Were you ready or not?
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures”! Write about them in the comment box below.
