Vacationing in my mind

 

I'm in need of a family vacation, but with things being crazy for the next couple of months, along with the hubby and I still saving up for that elusive vacation, I don't see it happening right now.  It kind of makes me sad, especially since we haven't been on a big trip since our honeymoon!  However, I know that its the smartest thing right now to put it off till the end of the year, if not the beginning of next year.

That being said, I can still imagine tons of vacation scenarios, and today, I'm feeling a little nostalgic and homesick for the motherland...Portugal!

I lived in the small town in Northern Portugal, Moncao, where my father is originally from, for about 8 years (when I was 9 until about 17), and I loved the whole experience.  The first year was the toughest, since my sisters and I had never learned the language until that point, and we were completely thrown in and immersed into the culture.  In retrospect it was the best way to learn a new language quickly, and effectively, even though I never fully lost my accent, and people could spot from a mile away that Portuguese was not my first language.  Some of my favourite family memories still stem from the time we lived abroad, the long drives we took together and picnicked on remote beaches, to huge family gatherings where food and wine were always in abundance. 

Unfortunately I have not returned for a visit since the family decided to move back to Canada, and it is a dream of mine to vacation there, and do one big family trip, especially to show the hubby and the little guy a place that will always have a dear place in my heart, and shaped a lot of the person I am today.  I feel very fortunate to have lived a different type of lifestyle from Canada, where going to dinner at 10:30 was considered the norm; where people knew not only who you were but most likely your entire family; where life was simpler, going to the farmers market was a daily occurrence, and play dates were adventures in long grassed fields and vineyards. 

So until I can afford to take my family back and experience everything I love about the country that shaped my adolescence, I will visit often those corners in my mind for the memories that make me laugh, smile, and sometimes cry just a little for times past.