Room With A View

This is the view I will have at sunset this evening. Peaceful, isn’t it?

I am on a vacation with my family as I write this. We are at a little lake here in AZ, in a little cabin that sits on the shore of the perfect quiet fishing spot. In fact, I can see Mr. Mom of Many Hats and one of my Baby Hats are testing their "boatmanship" and fishing skills on a little tin row boat just off shore …..(I’ll post the big fish stories I hear in another post).

This is our second adventure at this particular lake. The first was about 5 years ago, when all my baby hats were much younger, our canine hat was much sprier, and Mr. Mom of Many Hats and myself had much more energy for the minimal amount of roughing it that we have to do with theses particular accommodations.

As our family has grown up, we’ve become accustomed to the little luxuries in life. We are used to not having to share bathrooms. We are spoiled by having living space that allows us each a bit of breathing room. We have not had to learn to keep ourselves busy as instant entertainment has been at our fingertips via the internet, cable and video games. In short, we have not had to learn how to simply be and enjoy being because of the luxuries we have.

Although at some level we are well aware of this, the week we have spent here has made it glaringly apparent. We are in a tight space with small shared rooms and a single bathroom. There is one small living space that all of us, plus the wet muddy dog congregate in for meals and down time. There is no internet access. And, although there is a TV, there are few channels that actually work. We are cramped, running a little short in the fuse, and are forced to find things to keep us occupied.

But, I am proud of my family of Hats….

We have really worked at spending our time doing family stuff. We’ve played family card games. We’ve played word games. We went on a horseback trail ride. We’ve spent many, many hours with fishing poles in the water, each of us displaying the patience of Job as the slow, seemingly endless process of catching a fish tests not only our persistence, but also our commitment to the actual catching of a fish. And, when it all gets to be just a bit to much to togetherness time, we have retreated to the front porch that I am writing from to take in the calm and peacefulness of the water, the beautiful sky, and the natural scenery.

There is not doubt that we will return to this place again for a family vacation. We have seen so much here. We see the beauty of nature around us, we see a little about ourselves, and we see what we are as a family. How can we resist returning to this room with a view?