Gift From The Sea, Introduction + Chapter 1

I'll have to admit that every time I start to read Gift From The Sea (which I'll now shorten to GFTS for the rest of the posts) and I have read and re-read it more times than I can remember, my first thoughts are envious-
"Two weeks ALONE by the seashore, huh, must be nice".

I have never had more than a one week vacation and even then it was never without my husband and three children. I have never spent more than a weekend away from my sons and I have never,ever,ever spent more than just a few hours totally by myself. I wonder what I would do with two weeks,alone, at a beach.

In the name of complete honesty and transparency here I will admit to while I loudly voice my need for solitude and time alone the few times it did actually occur I ended up missing my family intensely.

I am not a good traveler. I get car/motion sick at the drop of a hat and I get so home-sick for my own home, bed and surrondings even when on vacation with the entire family. Two weeks, alone, I do not know if I could cope. Even if I could survive emotionally away for two weeks, who on earth can afford travel expenses and rent on a seaside cabin?

Eventually though, the warmth and calm of GFTS overcomes my petty little thoughts and I am able to settle down and enjoy my reading. This time through I underlined the sentences that jumped out at me.

"in order to think out my own particular pattern of living,"
Have I ever?
Answer, no.

"my experience was very different from other people's."
It is still this way. For as far back as I can possibly remember I have felt this way.

"My situation had...more freedom than that of most people and in certain other ways, much less."
This is so true. With my sons being nearly grown now and needing me so much less of my attention, time and care I have more freedom now than I EVER could have imagined when they were little. I'm also still an at-home mom so I have lots of time and freedom but not very much $$$ to be able to do things like take a vacation away.

"hectic rhythms of city and suburb, time tables and schedules."
I tend to do better with time tables and schedules. I find I get more things done when I have such things. Give me to much open-ended time and I laze around thinking "I have all day." Too much of either extreme is not good for me.

"...some morning in the second week the mind awakes, comes to life again."
Ahhhhhh, I've felt this shift. It seems to take place for me on about a Tuesday or Wednesday of a week-long vacation. Its a precious 24-48 hours when I can be totally awake, totally relaxed, totally present. It fades all too soon though as you then wake up and realize the week is beginning to draw to a close and all the packing and preparation for the return home must soon begin.