West of Zion: The Journey Is Measured in Memories

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain

About two years ago, my mother-in-law sat at our table during Sunday dinner and made a pronouncement. This in and of itself was unusual, because she is not the type to make any type of declaration. Knowing that she was speaking to a group of newlyweds who were in the business of starting their families, the funniest part was that the next summer no one was to be pregnant. Why? Because she wanted to take a family trip that would include all her children, grandchildren, respective spouses, a special friend, and her great-grandchild. (At the time there was only one, so the "don't be pregnant" statement was good advice, and two more great-grandchildren were planned for, announced and born before the trip.) In all we ended up with 26 people on an adventure that took place one year ago this week.

One of Gigi's (Lorraine, Grandma, Mom) requests was a family picture. Jessica Friend Photo Design did an amazing job.

The other request was for a family dinner. We decided on pizza on the patio of our hotel during a rainstorm.

The first hurdle we faced for the adventure was deciding what type of vacation to take. A family cruise was the original proposal, but it didn't take long to determine that for some family members, that may not be the best option. Finally it was decided to head to Florida and encounter DisneyWorld, Universal Studios and NASA. Then the biggest hurdle faced - finding a date that would work for everyone. We were juggling three school district schedules, three university schedules and multiple employment demands that had to be met. There were times we thought we would need to give up or postpone to another year, but finally everyone was able to resolve conflicts and the date was set. At this point we "met" Monnika and Whitley with A Touch of Glitter Travels in Orlando. They were amazing to work with finding options for airplane tickets, transportation (two 15 passenger vans) and hotel accommodations (Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham) that provided everyone the space they needed, as well as fun little surprises to welcome us to Florida. We were so blessed to have them to do all the legwork for us.

Sitting here a year later, in the midst of a pandemic that has closed businesses, limited travel, with an increasing sense of isolation from family, my heart is full of memories of that whirlwind week that strengthened family ties through laughter and drama, excitement and exhaustion, storms and sunshine. I am loving the posts on social media other family members are sharing of their memories of that fun-filled week. As my mother-in-law recently commented on one post "Trip of a lifetime."

To me, it was priceless. We juggled luggage, car seats, strollers, vehicles, mealtimes and naps. Everyone pitched in and supported each other. No one had to be a single rider if the didn’t want to. Someone was always willing to go along. The time spent together as a family, making memories, building and strengthening relationships, fulfilling wishes and dreams is something that will never be replaced. We all came home exhausted from fun as the thousands of pictures document and we all have our stories to share. Watching my children joke around with each other and their cousins, first airplane flights, seeing Zora's face light up as snow fell on her during the Frozen show, Lela's joy as Pooh Bear complimented her on her shirt, Emily's wish fulfilled to see Cinderella's castle, meeting Phil and being able to thank him for his unending support of Rick's brother, David, during his battle with cancer, Disney ears and daily-themed shirts, and Rick being able to spend time with his siblings are a few of the many things that made the week unforgettable.