Tourist for a Day

A Tourist for a Day

Sometimes, we have to take a moment…and re-discover our world. I find that if I’m not careful, my day-to-day cares take over and I lose site of this beautiful place where I live. The water is just a passing view as I travel through the house carrying the laundry, the beaches are for someone else to walk and the sun shining through the windows becomes just an annoying glare on my computer screen. Although I appreciate where I live, I find I have to make a deliberate effort to enjoy my environment.

Yesterday, my daughter asked me to go on a kayaking picnic with her to the south end of Decatur Island. My first response was, “no, I’ve got too much to do today…I can’t do it.” But as most young 20 year olds, her response was to not take “no” for an answer and she kept persevering. Finally, I gave in and made up a picnic and gathered paddles and life jackets for the trip. What a trip it was!….Beautiful glassy water, a warm pebble beach, eating lunch and visiting with my daughter and even a nap in the sun. Suddenly, I wasn’t just a woman checking off items on a “to do” list, it was like I was someone kayaking the San Juan Islands and appreciating the awesomeness of this place for the very first time…the smell of the seaweed, the calls of the various birds and the unsurpassed beauty everywhere. I came home with a pocket full of rocks and sea glass and a full set of charged batteries….ready to attack my first item on my “to do” list….write a blog.

Wherever you live, take a minute and plan a day being a tourist in your own town….visit the museum, have lunch in the park and better yet, spend the day with someone who means the world to you. You’ll be glad you did.