Home Again Home Again, Jiggety Jig

Home Again Home Again, Jiggety Jig

Vacations are supposed to recreate and relax. I believe we have found the perfect formula for that. Yes, Ireland has been wonderful and greatly exceeded our expectations. We really enjoyed Normandy, and Rome is very special to me and would always be a pleasure. México, both Cabo and Akumal, were fun and restful. Todi in Umbria was perfect for exploring the hill towns of central Italy. Next, we’ve spoken of Spain, Portugal, Croatia and Greece. Where we choose we will choose carefully and it will be well-planned and probably delightful, but the issue will always be about who we go with. These things go in cycles. Kids want to and can go sometimes, and other times it’s a non-starter (school, work, kids, in-laws, etc., etc.). We are finding that both financial and health constraints are bigger and bigger issues all around. There are old friends who have traveled a lot with us and new friends who want to join in more. There are even acquaintances who wonder why they haven’t been invited yet. It’s a complex process, but one that we feel is worth all the sacrifice and trouble. Our formula for Normandy in 2017 was 18 each week or 32 guests in total. Our 2019 formula was 37 guests that ended up at 35. In between, in 2018, we had a slightly different gathering at Hearst Castle for 48 guests.

The family/friend circles are easily defined for family, but more complex and touchy for friends. Family seems to work in this priority (number included in 2019):

• Children & their significant others & grandchildren (if applicable) (8)

• Siblings & significant others (7)

• Nieces and Nephews and their significant others & children (5)

• Cousins & their children (4)

• Total family for 2019 – 24

Friends & significant others (number included in 2019):

• Historical (4)

• Theater/Cabaret (5)

• Work-related (2)

• Total friends for 2019 – 11

I am just now wondering about that ratio and am more or less comfortable that we have a workable balance. It is impossible to say who, if anyone is going to require inordinate attention due to physical or emotional trouble as that can be pre-existing, Trip-induced or even self-inflicted at any time. For the most part we understand the flat sides our team has as well as our own tendencies and tolerances. For the most part we and most regular attendees dial back their annoyance meters and work to thicken our skin before departure, but there are exceptions which can come to the surface either with predictability or randomly.

As Queen used to sing, “These are the days of our lives.” And as my Welsh friend always says, “You’re a long time dead, Boyo.” My wife and I took a luxurious and lovely Viking cruise to New Zealand and Australia (including Tasmania) in February. That was a real bucket-list trip, where coming to Ireland was more of a compromise to make something work for family and friends. Kim and I were alone on the Oz/NZ trip, but we are best friends and genuinely enjoy each other’s company, so the lack of other traveling companions should not have caused an issue. We found Oz/NZ to be a ho-hum trip, but Ireland was nothing less than spectacular and memorable. What does that tell us?

We have decided that we would prefer to do fewer trips, and to favor the wide-ranging and diverse family/friends program that brings us so much joy and such precious memories. There will invariably be bruises, but so far, no permanent scars. Kim helps avert all this danger by polling the crowd nightly after dinner about their favorite element of the day. This may seem to some like standard group dynamics to induce communication, but I find that is more like a counting-your-blessings form of prayer. We all need to

recognize and even verbalize our good fortune and evening vespers with the group around is a fine way to have it happen. I am convinced that it brings everybody up and feeling positive, thereby making the trip that much more enjoyable for everyone. Good vibrations are infectious.

Kim and I spend months and months planning and anticipating these family/friends extravaganzas. We often say to each other that we feel that half the fun of the trip is the planning and anticipation. Having something big to look forward to is an important ingredient to overall happiness. All the experts say that happiness is about living in the now, but I feel that anticipation and planning are an altered state of now and may be even more powerful as they are governed by good vibrations and no disappointments. If you are feeling blue while you plan a vacation, you need to rethink your situation and make adjustments.

A big question for the future of these family/friends trips will be our ability to maintain the high level of work involved in preparing and executing the arrangements. This trip we drove hours each day on winding narrow left-hand-drive roads. That alone is a necessary capability if one wants to pull off a trip like this. On other trips it has been other endurance or athletic skills. So far we seem fit and willing to take on the task, so we are likely to continue a while longer. In fact, I predict that we may run out of unique and interesting new venues before we run out of steam.

We have now dropped off the rental vans (home to us for a fortnight) and are on Aer Lingus to Heathrow to catch the cramped flight home on Virgin Atlantic. We have said all our good-byes and reminded each other when we will see each other next. If you are a fan of the movie Babe, you know what I must say next in any story titled with home again, home again jiggety jig. That’s right. That’ll do pig. That’ll do.