The Journey to Sablet, Part IV By: Jacqueline Hughes
I’ve learned never to take life for granted. My Mother suddenly passed away at the age of 62 when all of her grandchildren were quite young and impressionable. Mom believed that ‘to travel’ meant packing our clothes and sandwiches and heading out on the open road with four children, one large dog, husband at the wheel and all of the windows down because we didn’t have AC in the car. In this manner we tackled Pike’s Peak, maneuvered the narrow streets of New Orleans, viewed the mighty Mackinac Bridge linking the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan and came back home alive to tell all about each trip to family and friends.
Mom vowed never to fly. Yet her passion was visiting Hawaii some day. We asked her if she was going to swim there or just wait until they built a bridge over the Pacific Ocean for Dad to navigate. She would smile at us and say, “I will get there if it’s meant to be.” I believe that in her heart and vivid imagination she had visited the islands every day because that is exactly where she would go to ‘breathe.’ There she could bask in the sun and forget about her cares for the time being. That’s what trips are all about anyway…..taking a small break from reality whether real or imagined. I now know how much Mom loved her Hawaiian visits.
I do fly, and I love it. I even attempted to become a “stewardess” back in the day. There’s something so extraordinary about spending a mere few hours aloft and landing in spectacular new places. Sometimes we fly to reconnect with people and places we’ve visited before such as ‘loved ones’ and France! And, that’s exactly how I feel about flying to Sablet this coming September; I’ll be saying “hello” to a place I now know only in my heart and imagination. And soon……..very, very soon, it will all become a reality. Less than seventeen weeks to go!
Is it possible for someone to be able to visit a certain place that makes them feel whole even if they’ve never actually been there before? And to know in their heart that this place exists for them to return to again and again? I know we feel that way about Sablet already. Just as my Mother experienced the warmth of the Hawaiian sun on her face and the sensation of a sandy beach beneath her feet whenever she felt like it, Dan and I will return to Sablet over and over again.
To Be Continued…..
Posted by Marianne at 6/4/2009 5:43 PM 
Categories: Travel, France, Provence, Leisure
Tags: one large dog husband at the wheel and all of the windows down because we didn’t have AC in the car.
Categories: Travel, France, Provence, Leisure
Tags: one large dog husband at the wheel and all of the windows down because we didn’t have AC in the car.
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