July 1, 2016
Today is the day before we leave for 2 weeks. Tomorrow we begin our third official Ng family reunion by going on an Alaskan cruise on Holland America. Before Alaska, we have had reunions in San Diego and in Cary, NC. Following that we’ll spend another week with Greg and Heather and the kids on their quest to visit 100 national parks before the end of the year. They’ll make their goal.
Before leaving on a long trip, we always expect to return. But leaving the house unattended for 2 weeks always lead me to perform certain tasks. After grinding my morning cup of Peet’s Major Dickerson’s, I washed out the blue bean container and the scoops. With a paper towel, I wiped clean the Crusinart bean grinder so that it won’t smell like old coffee beans when I come back.
We have been eating up all perishables in the fridge so not to waste good food. The other day seeing that we had no vegetables and bananas, I bought some carrots and one head of broccoli to balance our last suppers. And 4 ripe bananas, one for each of us for the last two days at home. Today, we’ll continue consuming leftovers of leftovers until we leave.
I will water the 4 strawberry plants that have produced marvelously this year giving me about 5-6 strawberries every other day for my bowl of cold cereal. It could be the winter rains we got this year as well as more sunlight from global warming. Our neighbor Joanna will pick them while we are away—a form of modern gleaning after the farmer has harvested his crop!
I will go for another bike ride today when the sun is higher up before hanging up my bike for the next two weeks. This will be the third time on the bike this week. I am going farther and feeling less tiring going up hills each time I’m out. Riding the Marin Fairfax 3 bike has given me freedom off the freeway and slowing down to see the wonderful natural habitats around me.
I have stopped the paper delivery. I have entered a ‘vacation response’ on my email. Joy stopped the mail. I will leave my laptop at home. I will sweep the walk knowing that there’ll be many more leaves by the time I return. I will vacuum the house one last time knowing that the cosmic dust that showers on the world all the time will fall no less when I’m gone.
Going on vacation is a first world luxury that most of the world find impossible but depended on for their livelihood in tourism. We leave the comfort and conveniences of home to lay our sights on something new. In the past, people go on a ‘hero’s journey’ to find oneself. People went into the wilderness to discern one’s calling. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness.
Today, the day before we leave, I am thankful for the privilege to leave and even more grateful to know that there’s a place to come back.