Vacation

I'm leaving the office in a few days to visit Alaska. I've always wanted to go. There's this fabulous gal, Roxanne Grobbel, who teaches therapists in Alaska and I often look at her photos with longing.

I struggle with the belief that time away from work- selfish moments of rest and relaxation- are a luxury. There are many folks who cannot afford the time or the money or the inevitable piling up of the To-Do List that comes with getting away. I can easily honor their sensibilities.

Still, I am inspired by the families that I serve who purposefully walk away from it all for short times during the summer, to build the memories that sustain them during the hard school year. My families are spending their July at sleepaway camps in Colorado, the Carolinas and New York. They are on yachts or in cafes off the south of France. They are lounging on the beaches of Brazil and the poolside chairs in the Keys. They are spending an indulgent week at Grandma's house.

This Summer, I am pressing pause on a therapy practice that is pregnant with possibility. I am looking forward to the quiet, where I can reflect on what the early part of this year has given to me. I have made many changes. I have many more in store. Change... growth... is the nature of all things, I think. And, these things naturally lead me toward reflection... of What Was, and What Can Be.

So many of the families who come into my office are not in a Pause Moment of their lives. They are living in Fast Times, with Hard Decisions, and (they believe) Finite Options. A part of the work that I do is to return the Expanse of Summer to them. Remind them of the ease. Rekindle reflection of What Can Be. Remember the tenderness that can come- for themselves and each other- in the Summers of our lives.

And, for this, I am a therapist who needs Alaska.

If you are reading this, I sincerely hope you find some moments this Summer that are selfishly filled with relaxation, restoration and the gift of reflection. And, if these moments slip out of your grasp, feel free to drop by the office and I will share all that Alaska gives to me.