Skipping Stones

Life on the road is not one big vacation. I don't mean that in a negative way. I just mean that I can tell the difference between a vacation and real life. After just a week on the road, I can see that already.

We don't eat out everyday. We still have to stop and pay the bills. We still correct our kids. Before we left Dan and I talked about Our Trip and it was all very exciting. We talked about the great things we'd see, the attractions we'd visit, the places we'd want to eat. And while that is really happening some days, there's something else going on too.

Here's the difference: A month ago, or a year ago, I didn't have the time to skip stones with the kids. Not like I did today. We skipped stones at the beach until my arm was sore. We all made a contest out of it. Who could skip the most times, who could skip the highest, the farthest? We had an endless supply of smooth black skipping stones too, because that's what this Vermont beach was made up of. Dan said the kids would have stayed until the entire beach-ful of rocks were in the lake.

The day we skipped stones was Father's Day. It was also the day I tried to teach the kids the difference between presents and presence. Dan didn't unwrap a gift that day. But like vacations, presents can be really special, but life and the gift of our presence is even better.