When I was 15 we went on a trip ‘out west’, funded by my grandparents, and they came along. For a month I was squished between my mom and my grandmother in the back seat of the Rambler station wagon. Every teenage girls dream, right?
I gave the appearance of not being interested in anything except reading my Beatle magazines, and to tell the truth, that really was my interest. I remember having cramps so bad at the Grand Canyon that I could hardly get out of the car, and an intestinal upset at Disneyland that kept me in the motel room.
My parents and grandparents thought the trip was wasted on me.
But in Wyoming I remember climbing a hill alone and finding myself gazing out at a magnificent view of the prairie and mountains beyond like I had never seen. That and my other teenage mixed emotions brought tears, but of course I didn’t let on.
At Yosemite I wandered out to the Merced River and climbed on rocks till I was in the middle of it. My mom almost had a heart attack when she finally found me (I couldn’t hear them calling because the water was so loud), but for me it was the high point of the trip, sitting out there in the rocks alone with the water splashing and rushing by me.
My family didn’t realize it then and maybe I didn’t either, but that trip had a huge positive influence on me. I already loved nature but now that love had been reinforced, despite a month of being squished in the back seat, with my nose seemingly only being stuck in teen magazines. Somehow it instilled in me a desire to explore further. My love of nature grew, and is still growing. I swear, I appreciate nature more every day and I’m so very grateful I have this precious time to explore it and get closer to it.
So I just want to say, if you get the chance GO! Explore the beauty of nature. It might be a hike, a camping trip, a driving trip, but get out there, get your kids out there even if they act like they don’t want to go. :-). Getting away from the normal routine opens your heart and mind and gives you a different perspective…gives you a natural high! Enjoy!
Wandering Spirit 
funny how certain things bring back memories – glad you are having a great “down memory lane” trip – it was neat to see your Mums house. I think all teenagers go through the same things….I tell my kids “what goes around, comes around” they have teenage kids of their own now…I love to watch – remember – smirk LOL Yep it comes around….cheers from Leslie
Hi Leslie,
I like what Kahlil Gibran says about children in “The Prophet”.
“Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit,
Not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor terries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
And He bends you with His might, that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness,
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
So He loves also the bow that is stable.”
It’s so interesting–even a phenomenon–that children and parents remember events in such different ways. During family visits, it’s great fun to have a ‘reality check’ on events that happened during our time growing up. Each person has a different memory of events. Did you have the opportunity to share with your parents just how meaningful that trip was for you? I find your posts so thought-provoking but this one especially as I have a special place in my heart for children and their parents.
Well Dawn, call me a slow learner, but if am just coming to realize how meaningful that trip was for me. I didn’t realize the importance it held in forming my thoughts and feelings, until recently. I’ll tell my mom but I don’t know if she will understand…if she will even remember the trip. As for my dad, when I go back to Tucson I’ll be making a trip to the place he was laid to rest, and we’ll have a talk.
Memories of events…isn’t it something how they can be as different as night and day? Shaped by perspective and personality and more…really interesting.
Every parent who has forced or given in and not forced their kids to go places and experience things should read this page of your blog!!!
Oh I wish they would Marsha! Kids can learn so much about life from the natural world. Once they have experienced these things, they won’t forget. And parents may have an awakening too!
Hi Micky,
Your post brought back a flood of memories for me. My parents never interacted with us kids much. I don’t remember them playing with us or reading to us or anything like that. However, the one thing I DO remember is that dad had a two week vacation every year, and he would take us all on a camping trip of some kind. First in an old, very hot, canvas army tent with no floor. Later in a camping trailer. One time we drove all the way out to Oregon to visit my brother. We started in Northern Michigan, drove through the Upper Peninsula, and through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Wyoming, Idaho, California and on to Oregon. A huge amount of time in the car for little kids! I still remember getting very ill because my dad smoked a pipe and the smell made me sick! However, I will never forget all the great things we saw along the way. Yellowstone National Park, and Mount Rushmore on the way back. All the beautiful water falls, the ocean, lakes, streams, mountains, Black Hills and beautiful vistas. I guess I have my
Dad to thank for my love of camping. the out doors and my urge to travel. Nothing else can compare to a Natural High!
Hi Mary,
Our parents…they tried, didn’t they? Just like we have tried the best we knew how, to be good parents.
I remember the smoke too! But my dad smoked cigarettes. I especially remember in the winter in Michigan, driving home from somewhere on a cold winter night will all the windows rolled up and the heater on and my dad smoking like a chimney! I couldn’t breathe! I’d open my window in the back just a bit and stick my nose out, like the dogs do, just to get fresh air. Then they would tell me ‘ shut that window, it’s cold outside!’ I can’t be sure but I’m guessing that’s one reason I used to have so many colds and lung problems….all the second hand smoke from birth on up.
They didn’t know back then, how dangerous it was. Parents now, DO know, however!
Parenting was a whole different game 50 or 60 years ago. We drove across the country to California when I was six because I had asthma pretty badly and my folks thought it would be a better environment for me. However, they both smoked and I remember being carsick and having a hard time breathing because of the smoke. They were right, though. I was a lot healthier in San Diego but we moved back to the East Coast after two years. We saw so many natural wonders on our two trips cross country. And my first camping experience was in the Anza-Borrego desert. We slept in our station wagon because we didn’t have a tent and darn near froze!
All that aside, my Dad instilled in me a great love and respect for nature and being outdoors, even when I was a reluctant teenage camper :). I have done my best to carry on his tradition with my own kids and it’s heartening to see it being passed on to my grandchildren now.
I’d rather be outdoors than anywhere else and RVing is what gets me there.
Hi Marcia,
I think a life has moments in time that are turning points…things that change us. They are gifts…sometimes provided by our parents in ways that we didn’t expect….sometimes we find them in some other way. Maybe a child looks up in the sky and sees a shooting star and it opens a whole new demention in her life. It’s an awakening to something beyond TV and video games. Oh how we all need those moments, and the more moments, the better.
So true!