I know what you're thinking. You saw the title of this post and immediately thought, "Oh, wow. That's why he hasn't written in so long; he's been gone on 'the best vacation ever.'" I know that was your immediate thought, so I'm really bummed I have to break your heart and tell you that's not true. Sadly, I didn't just stop writing because I was on an epic vacation. however, I did hear about the best vacation ever the other day, and I'd like to tell you about it.
Last Thursday afternoon, I met up with a friend for lunch at a small, downtown grill. He's one of those 'new' friends that I'm still in the process of getting to know, so there were a lot 'get to know you' questions going on, which I totally don't mind at all. He asked about my work. I asked about his wife. So on and so forth. . .
Eventually, the conversation got down to swapping stories about what our most memorable family vacations were growing up. I told him mine, and then he told me his. I listened closely as I finished mopping up my remaining chip crumbs. His was good, really good. But not for the reasons you might think. His wasn't about a trip to New York, Universal Studios or Europe; it was about a day-trip to Canada.
This friend of mine spent some of his childhood growing up in the Great Lakes Region of the U.S. with his parents and three siblings. At the time, his dad was working for a church and going through seminary classes. That being the case, he told me they obviously weren't the wealthiest family in town; in fact, at the time of this vacation, they didn't really have much of anything as far as money-standards go. They had $2.
It was a holiday weekend, and his dad wanted to do something special for the family to celebrate, so they settled on making the drive to Canada for the day. They took the car they had with the gas they had in it, drove up to an area just across the border that was on the water, and they spent the day together. They went to a Canadian McDonalds, shared two hamburgers amongst six individuals, and then they headed home. That's it.
In my mind, that was the best vacation ever.
I don't want to put any words in this friend's mouth or add any falsity to his story, but in my mind as he told me this story, I couldn't help but imagine what this vacation was probably like in my head. The car ride conversations, the games being played at the water's edge, the fighting over who's turn it was to take a bite of one of the hamburgers. . . it was just all so real. And so great.
It may seem crazy to think that. It wasn't an extravagant vacation, it wasn't expensive, and it wasn't extensive. Rather, it was quite simple and didn't really cost more than $2. There was something about hearing that story, though, that made my heart the happiest it had been all week. I can't tell you why, and I can't tell you why I think it was the 'best vacation ever', but I can tell you this: It was a story that was simple, raw and full of a family's love at its finest, and it was a story that I hope one day I can rewrite for my own family if I ever have one. Next stop, McDonalds.
-Cliff
Cliff's Note: Maybe there's a reason they're called 'Happy Meals'.