How to vacation charitably

Once upon a time taking a "vacation" meant complete abandonment from life's routine.  No schedule,  no agenda and certainly no expectations or planning. The act of going on vacation meant a time to rest and relax by putting away the world that engulfed my existence in any other given moment.

There were the teenage years of inviting friends to accompany our family on the annual summer excursion to Surfside Beach. Those years were memory makers.  However, as family members passed away the location grew to become a stark reminder of absence. Family vacations then became a means to keep grief at bay. There were destination shifts to Ocracoke, North Carolina, Destin, Florida and Tybee Island, Georgia. Each location with undeniably beautiful attributes never really kept those feelings of loss from surfacing, they simply didn't reinforce it.  Looking back, my relocation to South Carolina in later life was driven by a desire to reside in the landscape where those warm family memories were made.

The young adult years entailed being invited to join others in their adventures near and far.  This period spans both coasts of the United States. Road trips with sorority sisters, conferences for professional development, packing and moving to accept a new job, and attending weddings (there were a lot of these). These years are memorable. However, notably missing in these jaunts are many of the in-between states that we either flew over or slept through.

Decades after graduating from college vacation travel became fodder for exploration both of self and places outside the United States. Cruises, canal tours, sandy beaches, mountain top retreats and a myriad of food and music festivals.  These years created a presence of just being. Several earlier blog posts allude to destination travel and while it's habit to denote these experiences via FaceBook, Instagram and Twitter there's a notable shift in my thoughts on how vacation time should be spent in present day tense.

I'm definitely late to the notion of vacation as a philanthropic opportunity. Congregations of people and civic groups have dedicated themselves to mission work, student exchanges, and immersion programs for far longer than I've been alive.  A recent visit to Eleuthera, Bahamas was a catalyst in viewing time away in a different light.  I met a librarian at a bar. Truly, a serendipitous  meeting, while picking up a pizza at the Rainbow Inn in Rainbow Bay.  Turns out the individual, Susy Siel, is the executive director of Freedom to Read, Inc and she endeavors to build settlement libraries in Eleuthera every summer.  Outside summer months, she's a media specialist at a high school in Wisconsin. It was not so much meeting her, but the post conversation exploration of the organization's website and FaceBook page that it dawned on me, someone who believes that reading is fundamental and who has even tutored reading in her local community, that here's an individual that gets it right. Susy through community development and a league of committed volunteers is making an investment in young people, creating a legacy that reaps benefits beyond the books that stock the libraries shelves.

While it's still important to escape the daily routine either in union or isolation there's a host of opportunities to do good work, make a difference and give back.  Perhaps embracing this concept gives rise to the desire to step back from life and incorporate charitable endeavors into a ritual once reserved for self indulgence.  I don't doubt that there was purpose in the universe placing Susy and I in the same location for that brief period of time.  It was my aha moment.

Pond Life

A body of water, whether fresh or salt infused, immediately reminds me how complex simplicity can be. Above, below and even around it natural life teams with activity. That is very much what I found here while retreating at Flat Bottom Pond in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts. 

A wide variety of birds announce daylight's entry whilst casting their melodies across a landscape glistening fresh with dew. The course of the day continues the same until evening heralds a shift. Once night has taken over, pond frogs replace the birds and lightening bugs add a twinkle to the darkness. Each day the same, but no less brilliant than before.

HodgePodge Wednesday

http://joyce-fromthissideofthepond.blogspot.com/

1. What is a pet peeve you have when vacationing?
No planning ahead other than research, no reservations except for lodging, no timetables, alarm clocks or scheduling unless for a baby or dog sitter.

2. Would you describe yourself as a light packer or do you need everything in your closet plus the kitchen sink?
Definitely fall in the light compact mode. Mix and match is a high priority within a three outfit capacity for weekend stays.  Jewelry limited to a single set that wears well with all and always travel size toiletries.

3. What is the best lesson a child ever taught you?
Never doubt that the time and attention you give a child either in learning or play is meaningful to that child.  I tutored a young lady over a thirteen week period and on the last day of tutoring she cried rather than reflect on her genuine success in learning.  When I asked her if her crying was actually joy, she said it was the absence of our time together that saddened her.

4. Share one piece of advice you'd give to a recent graduate as they attempt to enter the job market.
Start small, build around that experience with service and community work so that when a greater opportunity arrives your well-rounded approach does not go unnoticed.

5. What is your favorite lemon something?
I love candied lemon peels for snacking, lemon pie for dessert, and lemonade all summer long.

6. Flat sandal, wedge, heel....what's your favorite footwear?
I'll opt for the flip flop in my casual life, wedge in my professional life and heel when extending the leg required.

7. What do you like best about a beach holiday?
Fresh seafood every day, several times a day.

8. (Random thought for the week) Evolving a typically genuine good trait one possesses over a lifetime.  In a political arena not so much.