“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom”.
If you are a parent, you can probably relate to this story. Take a read.
All we want is happiness for our children. Nothing more, nothing less.
How does your heart feel when you see your child laughing? For me, personally, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. I feel like everything I did, every choice I made, was for the best. It’s a similar feeling to the one you experience after completing an intricate puzzle; putting that last piece in is so invigorating.
I planned a short vacation for my family. Originally, the plan was to meet husband in Montreal while he was on a business trip. Plans changed a bit though…
A last minute emergency came up and my husband had to cancel his business trip.
What was I supposed to do? We already had our airline tickets, hotel reservation and itinerary lined up. Everything was settled! Was I crazy to consider going anyway?!
We did it! I was hesitant at first. Going on vacation, even though a short one, without dad didn’t sound fair to me. I felt guilty, and even my kids had the same feeling. But I also thought that sometimes we have to do something that goes against common sense. A little bit of insanity can make us feel alive.
We knew that Montreal was one of the coldest cities in North America, but I wasn’t really ready for that kind of cold!
While I wasn’t quite ready for bitter cold and snow, my kids were tremendously exited about the trip, and they couldn’t wait to see and play in the snow. Unfortunately, we found just traces left of it on the curb, not as much as we were expecting. Ricky’s first question addressed to the Hotel’s receptionist was: “Where is the closest park?”. The receptionist kindly let Ricky know that it wasn’t the proper season to go to a playground because of the cold, but Ricky insisted: “I don’t mean that kind of park, I want to see trees, just trees.”
He knew that where there is nature, snow is better preserved.
So we went out, exploring and looking for some snow!
What I love about children: they never give up!
If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have even noticed the snow left along the curb. They forced me to walk through the empty roads of downtown Montreal at 8:00 am to find some snow, at 6 degrees Fahrenheit! After 20 minutes of walking, I lost feeling in my face and my fingers. But eventually, we found some snow…in parking lots and open building sites!
It has been since we left Belluno (Italy) that my kids have played with snow. I think snow is Ricky’s natural environment. He confessed to me that he could easily live in a place like Montreal. He would even live in a place like Antarctica!
I loved many things about this trip.
One of the things I enjoyed most was that I didn’t have any internet access while we were outside. So I was “unplugged” the whole time. This gave me a chance to BE with my kids without distractions. I was able to be really present with them. I finally saw them playing and laughing and enjoying every single moment without any thought of messages, emails, social media or whatever else grabs my attention! I lived in the moment.
The other thing I really loved about this short vacation was seeing Ricky smiling! He has been through a lot in the last two years (moving to his second host country after Brazil, three school changes in three years, bullying, anxiety, etc.). Seeing him happy was the best gift I have received in a long time.
I also hired a documentary photographer while I was there.
I don’t have many photos of me with my children. I am the one with the camera in the family, and as a natural consequence of that, I have tons of photos of my kids with my husband, but only a few of me with them.
I’m so happy I did it! Celina stayed with us the whole morning and she also was our guide in this beautiful city! She is an incredible person and an amazing photographer. I can’t wait to see her photos. It’s my second time with a photographer documenting my day, and it’s one of the best gifts I can give myself. I still don’t have any photos from the shooting, but even the fact that I could enjoy my time with my kids without worrying about documenting their day was already an amazing gift.
We even enjoyed simply being in the hotel!
We vacationed for just three short days, but we lived them so deeply that I’m sure we will never forget them.
What did I learn from this experience?
Even if your head is telling you to not do something and your heart is telling you the opposite, go for it! Doing something foolish sometimes can be so liberating!
Use less technology when you are with your beloved ones. Living in the moment is better than waiting for a moment to happen.
Document your life more! I was hesitant to hire a photographer. My husband wasn’t there. What kind of memories would the photographer be able to freeze without our family being completely together? Would it be joyful or sad? How would my children react to seeing their photos with me, but without their father?
Now I’m sure that they will see happy moments of a short vacation with their mom!
