{"id":3212,"date":"2015-07-20T16:55:04","date_gmt":"2015-07-20T21:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=3212"},"modified":"2015-07-29T01:10:01","modified_gmt":"2015-07-29T06:10:01","slug":"travelling-as-a-tribe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=3212","title":{"rendered":"Travelling as a tribe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"whale<\/a>My children gave me a gift. \u00a0They agreed to join my husband and me on a ten day\u00a0journey\u00a0to the westernmost islands of Vancouver Island in\u00a0Vernon Bay, BC and on to a family reunion in Tulelake, CA near Oregon’s border. \u00a0That in itself was exhausting just to type. \u00a0So you can imagine the months of planning and logistics and the sacrifice it took for them to share their company and undivided attention in Canada with no cell service and spotty WiFi.<\/p>\n

Between them and their spouses, they had five jobs to work ahead for and leave to coworkers. Two sleep-deprived but still angelic (mostly) children under five to maneuver through airports, on two float planes, aboard five cross-country jets and two long car rides to and from locations.<\/p>\n

That said, I think it was a dream vacation for all of us. As much as it took to get us to O’Hare on time and prepared for our adventure, we moved as a clan, a family, a tribe because in most situations, it was \u00a0us and the elements. Which, as beautiful as they were, presented some challenges. Well, at least for me.<\/p>\n

The rainforest hike described as sloping, but in reality involved ropes and ladders and repelling-like maneuvers on slippery moss, was a surprise. As was the rain downpour. And, lest I forget, the necessity of carrying a “bear bell.” At one point I stopped and said, “OK. \u00a0Where are the hidden cameras? Should I strip down? I am definitely feeling Naked and Afraid<\/em>. ”<\/p>\n

We sea kayaked on a day long trip that was billed as gentle rowing through uninhabited islands but involved some definite white caps and one tipped kayak. \u00a0And yes, it was mine. Lucky for me, my copilot was my strapping young son so the only negative outcome was wet clothes and a bruised ego (mine, of course, not his.)<\/p>\n

As we navigated our way through our new daily routines in unfamiliar surroundings, I was impressed with how well we joined forces to help each other out of toppled watercraft and fog and through busy airports and delays and surprises and piles of laundry and “grab his hand” or “watch him for a second” and “I forgot a coat” or “do you have any sunscreen?”<\/p>\n

We had one striped tee that became the “sisterhood of the travelling top” and other gear was traded and worn and shared.<\/p>\n

We were a team and as little privacy as anyone had, or alone moments to take a breath, we made it through without a major hiccup. \u00a0No sulking, underlying angers, jealousy, sibling rivalry, hurt feelings emerged to cloud our sunny days and\u00a0adventuresome\u00a0spirits. \u00a0We rolled\u00a0with it, rain or shine. \u00a0And relished the\u00a0treasure\u00a0of our\u00a0shared time together.<\/p>\n

I think my kids, and we, are all old enough to know time is precious. \u00a0And moments as a family can be fleeting. And that all we are assured of is the present.<\/p>\n

And that is where we tried to stay.<\/p>\n

In both locations, we were surrounded by extraordinary natural surroundings. We witnessed animals in nature doing what they do best, existing in their natural habitat– undisturbed and working together for survival. And I thought how our family was trying to do the same.\u00a0I also wondered what all the groups of animals called their crowd or clans.<\/p>\n

This is what I\u00a0discovered.<\/p>\n

In Canada, we saw convocations<\/em> of soaring bald eagles swooping down from six foot wide nests atop 40 foot pine trees.\u00a0Sieges<\/i>\u00a0of herons dodged float plane take offs. We kayaked by blooms<\/em> of jellyfish, made wishes on swarms<\/em> of butterflies, watched the boys play with armies<\/em> of frogs, swatted scourges<\/em> of mosquitoes and boated beside romps<\/em> of sea otters.<\/p>\n

Luckily we didn’t encounter any shivers<\/em> of sharks or sleuths<\/em> of black bears. But the highlight for me, and the rest of the crew I think, was a rogue humpback whale apart from her herd or pod,\u00a0<\/em>performing in the sea as though she knew we were clapping. Pulling that\u00a0mammoth\u00a0body completely out of the water, nimble as a minnow, and doing a full\u00a0twist (breach) before disappearing \u00a0into the misty ocean with a finale wave from her wide\u00a0mustache of a tail.<\/p>\n

Wondrous stuff in a magical location.<\/p>\n

My daughter and her husband play a game with their\u00a0children\u00a0before bedtime each night called\u00a0“Roses and Thorns.” \u00a0They ask their three and five year old sons what the “rose” was of their day and what was the “thorn.” And mom and dad share theirs.<\/p>\n

For this trip, I am hard pressed to decide on a rose. \u00a0It would have to be a bouquet of inside jokes and laughter and shared meals and held hands and hugs and awe and\u00a0accommodating and encouragement and love.<\/p>\n

And the thorn? \u00a0That’s easy. It all had to come to an end.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My children gave me a gift. \u00a0They agreed to join my husband and me on a ten day\u00a0journey\u00a0to the westernmost islands of Vancouver Island in\u00a0Vernon Bay, BC and on to a family reunion in Tulelake, CA near Oregon’s border. \u00a0That in itself was exhausting just to type. \u00a0So you can imagine the months of planning …<\/p>\n

>>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nTravelling as a tribe - askmsmom.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=3212\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Travelling as a tribe - askmsmom.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My children gave me a gift. \u00a0They agreed to join my husband and me on a ten day\u00a0journey\u00a0to the westernmost islands of Vancouver Island in\u00a0Vernon Bay, BC and on to a family reunion in Tulelake, CA near Oregon’s border. \u00a0That in itself was exhausting just to type. \u00a0So you can imagine the months of planning ...>>Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/?p=3212\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"askmsmom.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-07-20T21:55:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-07-29T06:10:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/askmrsmom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/whale-tale-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=3212#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=3212\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5031095d2f9410eb51dc2762789e1945\"},\"headline\":\"Travelling as a tribe\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-07-20T21:55:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-07-29T06:10:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=3212\"},\"wordCount\":825,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=3212#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/07\\\/whale-tale-150x150.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=3212#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=3212\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/askmrsmom.com\\\/?p=3212\",\"name\":\"Travelling as a tribe - 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