Eight days after selling Discovery Montessori, we took our first trip.
We didn't head somewhere exotic. We went to see our daughters.
We hadn't seen Laura, Rachel or the grandkids in a while, and after all the attention we'd given the business and its sale, it seemed obvious that the first thing we should do with our newfound freedom was spend some time with them.
Baltimore
We started in Baltimore, where Laura was living and working.
We stayed at the Ulysses and spent as much time as we could with Laura when she wasn't working. During the days when she had other commitments, Shirley and I entertained ourselves.
We visited some of Baltimore's sights, although neither of us remembers those as particularly important parts of the trip. We weren't really there to see Baltimore. We were there to see Laura, and sightseeing was simply something to do when we had time on our hands.
One evening we went to dinner at a place featuring a jazz concert. Neither of us seems to have photographs from the evening, and many of the details have already faded, but we remember enjoying it.
Mostly, it was just good to be with Laura without feeling rushed to get back to something.
New Mexico
From Baltimore, we flew to New Mexico to see Rachel and the grandkids.
Again, the visit itself was the reason for the trip. The grandkids were excited to see us, and we were equally happy to see them.
When we weren't with the family, we found things to do nearby. We rode the tram to the top of Sandia Peak and visited the Rio Grande Nature Center.
Shirley's birthday fell during our visit. There wasn't an elaborate celebration. We went to a diner for breakfast and celebrated together.
It was simple, and we enjoyed ourselves.
What We'll Remember
We probably won't remember many of the tourist sights from these eleven days.
We'll remember seeing our daughters and the grandkids.
And we'll remember what it felt like to take the trip.
For most of our working lives, travel had to fit around something else. There was always a school calendar, an employee who might call, a problem that might arise, or a date when we needed to be back.
This time was different.
We could fly across the country to see our daughters simply because we wanted to.
We didn't need to squeeze the visits into a long weekend. We didn't have to worry about what was happening at the schools while we were gone. And when Laura had to work or Rachel was busy, there was nothing we needed to accomplish with the extra time.
So we wandered around Baltimore.
We rode a tram up a mountain.
We visited a nature center.
We had breakfast at a diner.
And when the visits were over, we headed home knowing that, for the first time in a very long time, there was nothing waiting there that required our attention.
