Lucky--Ari

Ari Day #76

“Lucky”

6/1/2022

Best Western, Blois, France

Here we are in Blois where we just finished the last main “adventure” of our sabbatical, our 4-day bike tour through the Loire valley in France. Now that some of the anxiety associated with the very real possibility of something interrupting our sabbatical such as an injury, illness of one of us or a loved one, a pandemic, a war, etc., we are all beginning to let down our guards and the reality of the last 2.5 months seem to be setting in.

As these memories settle into hopefully relatively permanent corners of my brain, one overarching theme seems to be emerging—the gratefulness to have the opportunity to develop these character altering core memories in the company of my family. Although these experiences will no-doubt alter each one of us differently, we will always have these shared memories to look back on together.

Over time, what became most apparent to me was the slow but sure development of the ability for each one of us to laugh at situations, each other, and, most importantly ourselves. I have no doubt that I have laughed more in the past two months than I have over the past 2 years. I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that the last 2 years of our world sapped a good portion of my sense of humor. During the sabbatical, the immersive nature of our adventures muted the noise of the world’s ailments and enabled all of us to focus on one thing: our shared experiences. This gift of eliminating the ever-present distractions of life in modern America, especially for adults, is perhaps the most valuable component of my sabbatical. This has enabled me to be truly present for the rest of my family. This presence spawned a connection between us that transformed itself into genuine laughter straight from our souls.

As this adventure comes to a close, while I am mourning the likely erosion of this connection as our minds become cluttered with meaningful and meaningless distractions, I am celebrating the fact that I had the opportunity to experience this closeness and joy with my family. I know that Cris and I will once again become immersed in our rewarding yet all-consuming careers, and Asher and Linden will be venturing into teenageville where they may even forget my name. However, I will always have these treasured memories to look back on, knowing there was once a time where we all truly experienced the world as one.