Finding Mayo

Last week, early morning, pulling out of our driveway in a rented SUV filled to the top with beach toys and gobs of road food, Cole and I both had a big life moment together-- before I took the car out of reverse to push forward on our first ever family road trip, we sat in the middle of our street, the car still in reverse, my foot on the brake, nervous to go into drive and start this trip, and we both looked at one another and smiled a big toothy smile and acknowledged how strange it felt to be going on a family vacation like this. Cole asked: "You feel weird too? Is this some sort of adult milestone we have reached here? A packed car going out on a family vacation?!" and I believe that was the best way to describe it.

Tessa and LB keep plowing through their growing pains and achievements month after month, and we forgot that we are doing our own bit of growing up right along with them. It did feel strange sitting in that car, it was like a big wash of flashbacks and memories of all of my car trips as a little kid with my own mom and dad hit me all at once, and I felt ancient. How did I end up here in the driver seat with two kids in the back seat, and a gorgeous wife next to me? It was the most that I had ever felt like a "dad" before. It was a mix of pride and fear, and some sadness set in that the silly newlywed phase, and the thrill of being a brand new parent was gone and replaced with this role of "Dad." It was like the last scrap of youth was gone, and for the first time I saw myself as an adult. Like a grown ass man. I still feel weird about it. It probably didn't help that I had just bought a pair of khaki shorts. At least they weren't cargo.

I dont think we were even off our street yet, and after some serious Tessa whining, I had already slowed the car down, turned around, and spit out some generic stern reprimand to the backseat that involved "pulling the car over." Cole looked at me and laughed, and asked: "another milestone?"

I decided not to take my computer on this trip, the whole point was to be completely immersed in family and I didn't want the distraction. I didn't take a ton of pictures like I had imagined. It was a choice that had to be made, when I get in photo mode, it isn't going to be fun for anyone else along for the ride, I stop 100 times, and run around hunting down the best angle, so I kept my camera put away most of the trip. It was easier than I thought it would be.

This little clusters of pictures that I posted here today are from a park that we stopped at on the last day. On the ride home, we passed through the small town of Mayo, we saw this great park in the center of town, and knew the kids needed a good stretch to make it the rest of the way without going bonkers. So we stopped, and played, and climbed trees, and they had amazing fun. It feels so good to know that they don't need the "magic" of a giant theme park for them to have a blast. We were in this tiny place, along a stretch of tiny places, surrounded by these gorgeous giant oaks, and swing sets, and that was enough for everyone. I will take this kind of fun as long as we can make it last, I am not ready to give into standing in a line for two hours to go on a 90 second commercial. This little stop at the park made me calm down about providing the "perfect" vacation. As the kids burned off energy, and I watched Cole play just as hard as LB and Tessa, and I realized aiming my camera at everyone that I never had to say "smile" to anyone, because they were just happy. Nobody cared where we were, because we were all together, and so new places make sense. Everything we do every single day is for the end goal of staying as "happy" as possible-- and here we all were, in Mayo, FL just being happy. It felt awesome.

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