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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 peer. 

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 . . . 

family vacation playing cards
Photo by Alessandro Bogliari on Unsplash

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.

To enjoy the morning sunrises and evening sunsets over the sea every day, to have breakfast on the balcony nestled among the mountain peaks, to hang laundry in the sunshine, to sit and write in the gentle sea breeze . . .

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.

family vacation breakfast on balcony
Last Breakfast

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.

family vacation sunset beach tree
Last Sunset on the Mediterranean Sea

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.

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MORE STORIES YOU MAY LIKE:

LIVING IN THE ‘DAYS OF LASTS’

Living in the ‘Days of Firsts’

One of the Reasons We are Afraid to Travel

Do You Have a Travel Dream?

‘Oh, The Places We Will Go!’

Ringing in the New Year—The World Celebrates!

The Cultural Story-Weaver

Along with her French husband, four boys, and dog, Marci is a global nomad who has traveled to more than 30 countries and lived extensively in the United States, France, Morocco, and Spain. She loves to travel, speak foreign languages, experience different cultures, eat ethnic foods, meet people from faraway lands, and of course, tell stories.

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