My Favourite Vacation

Zion National Park, May 2014

I still remember this as one of my favorite trips of all time. It was my mom’s birthday and my sisters and I flew down for the week, significant others and first baby nephew in tow. We stayed in a house at the foot of Zion National Park, walking distance from the shuttle that would take us to the many hiking trails the park had to offer. Every day felt like an amazing adventure. I learned that my superhuman brother-in-law was afraid of heights as the rest of us ascended to the tip of Angel’s Landing. We saw mountain goats at dusk, then used flashlights to see the path back to the car. We laughed as gusting winds threatened to topple us over as we assembled for a family photo. It was perfect.

I still remember this as one of my favorite trips of all time. I remember it being perfect. But memory is funny. The reality is that only 10 days before this trip, my dad had passed away suddenly. My relationship with my dad was tricky, and this added a layer of complexity to the grieving process. I think we all spent this trip with heavy hearts and more than a few tears were shed. But the thing that was so special was that we were all in it together. Through the highs and lows, figuratively and literally, we had each other.

It will always be one of my favourite trips of all time.