Why Bother Traveling

Preparing for a trip to France is a tall order. Flights, hotels, automobiles, and that all too dreaded packing. This is my second trip to France; first one was taken when I graduated from High School at the age of 18, 28 years ago. The first trip was given to me by my late maternal grandmother, Sadie Rifkin. How interesting to note that this second trip is to take my daughter Sarah, who is named for my late grandma Sadie, to France as a gift from my parents for her Bat Mitzvah.

Each year since my daughter was 4 years old, I have taken my daughter on a trip somewhere in the summertime, by myself. Having pretty much raised Sarah by myself, her mother was around but not very attentive when I was available to do all the work, it is actually a relief to take Sarah on a trip alone because I don't have to attend to Sarah's mother's needs. We have visited all sorts of places in the last 9 years including the Jersey shore with Karen, Paul, and their girls, various parts of Pennsylvania including Strasburg where we rode a locomotive and had lunch, to Pittsburgh to rest for more travel. We also visited my best friend Brad and his wife Jane in Lancaster, attended a couple Lancaster Arts festivals, and of course Youngstown, Ohio where my parents reside. Last year was a trip south to visit Kennedy Space Center, Cocoa Beach, Sea World, Aquatica, and family in Atlanta with a day's visit to the aquarium, and a return visit to see Space Shuttle Discovery's launch in late August.

This year is definitely more special; we are headed out of the country to see my brother Rob and his wonderful wife Jeannine in Paris. But getting ready for this trip has been a trip in and of itself. Passports had to be secured, flight arrangements made, excursion trips planned while in France, car rental, GPS, medications obtained before travel, an ATM card to ensure I can get Euros while in France, and even pay bills before leaving. Two weeks away from home sounds great, but that just means you have to pack in all the other normal stuff into a shorter period so you can relax. You got it, work three times as hard to plan a vacation that you definitely need when you're done planning; makes one wonder why bother.

Why do we bother traveling instead of doing a stay-cation; staying at home and relaxing? Well, when you're home there are far too many distractions and you really don't relax. Part of my separation agreement for my divorce from Sarah's mother says in order for me keep Sarah for any length of time, I cannot be at home. So, going away from home ensures I can have all the time with my daughter. We also bother to travel to such destinations because in this case I get to see someone I rarely get to spend time with; my brother. By the time I was off to college, he was still in middle school. By the time he matured, I was living in Virginia and starting a family. So this trip is as special to my daughter as it is to me. My daughter gets to see a new country where an entirely different language is used, places to see that have only been shown in books, and I get to spend time learning who my brother has become and the wonderful wife he has.

We make these trips for ourselves and for the love of others.