It’s that time of year again, the sun is shining, birds are chirping, cornfields are full of nearly-knee high corn; it’s just about the right time for a family vacation, right? This year our destination was first to Mason, Ohio to catch up with our cousins, and then to sunny Charleston, South Carolina to see our uncle and to see the history of the south. So, we packed our bags and crammed them all into our motor home, and we were off on a patented Ashley Family Vacation™ where we learn things about each other and bond as a family and all of that jazz. I was excited to go tubing and kayaking with cousins, and to tour the south and all its history, frankly, I don’t exactly lavish being within 6 feet of my family in a moving, hot enclosure… constantly. But, I packed my bags and soon we were on our way. Spending time with cousins was great, but it was soon time to disembark for the south. It seemed every inch we got closer to the equator, it got about a degree hotter. We took a break from travelling, and that is when we spotted the first complication, we noticed that our inside tire was flat. We took it apart with lots of elbow grease and sweat lubrication and put a spare on, and then attempted to locate new tires. We found a store in Hendersonville, NC, and found out that not one but all of the tires needed replacement. Just the news one wants to hear. One agonizing hour later, we were back on the road to Charleston. Just as we were navigating through Charleston, one mile away from our destination, a terrible misfortune happened. We were rear ended by an eccentric man.
My entire family was in tears, well, all but one and it’s had a lasting impression on my life. My dad just took it as it was, and did what he was supposed to, he didn’t worry about it, he just took care of it. I STILL think about that, how I could emulate that in the future when my own problem arises that I’ll need a resolve like that. It impressed upon me something big, something that I will want to apply to my future. He just sorted it out and then got us back on the road.
The rest of our adventure was less problematic, we successfully visited Drayton Hall, Ashley River (HA HA!), and the local beach on the Atlantic, but I doubt any bit of that will impact me as much as how my father acted during a time of distress. I really do wish I could be exactly like him, doing the right thing at the right time. And I guess that’s what the biggest thing of this trip was for me, how my father acted when everything wasn’t going right. How he provided a model for which to base my own actions. They’re big shoes to fill, but at least I have someone to learn from. We made it back home, all glad to be safe and sound at home with more room to spread out. Each of us had come home with our own lessons, our own things to take away from this experience. I guess the goal of the trip worked, to learn things about other members of the family. I certainly learned something about the character that makes up my dad. It’s a character that is undying, something that few possess these days. A character that I can only hope to achieve.
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