We're Going to Lake Powell!

Years ago, I was reading a little desk calendar that had a wise quote for each day of the year; you know the ones where each day gets its own little page, sometimes with a clever cartoon or inspirational picture?  It was at Chuck Coonradt's office where he ran his business, The Game of Work in Park City.   The quote that I read that day was something like this:

"Take a family vacation every year, even if you don't think you can afford it.  You cannot afford not to."

I've used that excuse for the last fifteen years, and never been sorry.  Here are three big reasons why getting away from it all is essential for families that want to hang together over the long haul.

Uninterrupted, contiguous time:  You develop a deep bond with your spouse and your children when you spend several days together, away from the daily distractions at home.  In many ways, we cannot see each other clearly until we get away from the distractions, and allow a little bit of time for the scales to fall from our eyes.  Think about the scales of noisy traffic, marketing-driven media, work demands, domestic chores, school responsibilities, neighborhood issues, etc.  I know that for me and Kat, many times it's difficult for us to "see" the amazingness of our children without getting away from all the crap.  A family vacation provides the distance from the crap, and time & space for clarity of vision.

Shared experience:  It would be nice if we were advanced enough to where we could simply connect with loved ones based on proximity and desire, but we don't.  We connect with people based on shared experience.  And we reinforce those connections when we recount those experiences:

"Remember that one day in January at Powder Mountain?  The kids were skiing Confidence and Deadhorse, the snow was perfect, and we took run after run down the backside in un-tracked powder.  Your smile wouldn't go away, and you laughed like you were ten.  I remember driving home, you were handing out snacks, and the kids went on and on telling what they did, and what their favorite run was."  

Shared experience - I don't know of any intimate relationship that can survive without it.

Confidence in a big world:  In the Facer family we have a strong bias toward activity-centered recreation and vacations.  This means that we make really great participants, but not such great tourists.  While Kat probably wouldn't mind touring, it would probably drive me a little nutty.  We want our kids to see the wonders of the world in an authentic, empowering way.  So they've seen the beauty of the Rockies while skiing and hiking the mountaintops in all four seasons.  They've explored the crevices and canyons of the west on foot and by boat with a lot of waterskiiing and wakeboarding mixed in.  The thing that our kids talk about from our vacation to Hawaii is not the luau show, but the day we spent adventuring and snorkeling at Honolua Bay.  Common phrases we say to our kids:
"I dunno, what do you think?
Let's go check it out.
I'm certain that you can do that.
Hey!  You totally did it!  I knew you could.
Of course it's difficult; the truly awesome things usually are."
Seeing the big world and experiencing it first-hand (with a minimum of packaging) gives our kids a sense of confident ease walking this great earth; and it shows.  They generally avoid that mistake where we think the familiar world is bigger than it really is, and then assume the rest of the world is smaller that it really is.

So later this week, we'll pack up the kids, the boat, and a bunch of gear, and spend six days in one of the most amazing places on earth.  We're gonna have a lot of fun.  I'll be able to see Kat more clearly and appreciate her all the more.  The level of appreciation and amazement of our kids will only go up.  And we'll experience more of this great world that God made for us.