A Perfect Day

Another of the February prompts is “What’s your idea of a perfect day with loved ones?”, and I had to laugh when I read that one. Why laugh? Because writing on this might make for a dull blog post. I don’t require much to have pretty amazing days with my family or friends. I am an introvert who likes to stay in and relax, read, eat snacks and read a little more. Throw in a nap, and life is golden. It makes it perfect to have my people around me, even if we aren’t interacting much. I’m totally happy to have my husband and sons downstairs watching a movie (with the sound way up, because that’s what they do), and my daughter hanging out in her room down the hall. Bonus points go to whoever bought chocolate last, so I can grab that for a snack whenever I like.

So, I’m a little boring, and I’m ok with that.

I really did want to write a blog post that was longer than one paragraph though, so I started thinking about extra special days we’ve had together. Over 20 years of marriage, there have been so many lovely and “perfect” days. We’ve been fortunate to travel quite a bit with our kids – across many states, to Mexico on a cruise, Walt Disney World, and more. Because our daughter doesn’t fly due to a severe peanut allergy, we drive on all our vacations. We are the type of family who likes to stop often along the way to read monuments and memorials and go to museums and historical places (and antique stores for hubby). I will forever be thankful for having three kids who are CHAMPS at road trips.

Several years ago, we were coming home from a train trip with friends in Colorado (which was pretty amazing), and Allan and I cooked up a plan to stop in Four Corners, AND if we could make it work, to end the day at the Grand Canyon. We thought it would be fun to show the kids Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado ALL at one time… and then hit one of the Seven Wonders of the World too.

The kids loved Four Corners, and we had fun together looking at all the booths from local vendors and artists. It was a total tourist trap type situation, but there were some amazing artists selling their paintings, arts, and crafts. We spent more money than we expected, and have some lovely souvenirs from that adventure, including a fun photo of the five of us standing in all four states at one time.

The kids had a great time, but had NO idea what was coming next. When we “arrived” at the Grand Canyon (it’s kind of hard to just “arrive”, since it’s HUGE), they were a little in shock. They figured out we were stopping one more time, but didn’t figure out the “where” right away, since they couldn’t see the canyon from the road as we drove towards a stopping point. It was nearing the end of the day, and we knew we didn’t have long to take in the majesty that is the Grand Canyon. We got amazing photos together and individually with the kids, and had some sweet moments of looking out over God’s creation as the sun dipped below the horizon. Then we took a few more photos as the sun completely set before we headed off to find a hotel for the night.

It was a perfect day – a moment in time when all three kids were the perfect ages to experience a day like this. They all got the significance and wonder of it, and we didn’t have to worry (too much) that any of them would wander off and fall of a cliff (my biggest fear about taking them to the GC when they were younger). I’m sure there were some anxious moments, some squabbling, some fussing from one to another – because that’s real life. But I don’t remember any of that. I just remember Allan and I surprising our kids, and making another core memory for our family. It will always be a treasured day. (And I 100% managed to read a good portion of that day, and I’m fairly sure I had chocolate of SOME kind, because…road trip… so, total perfection).