A step away from the road!!!

Earlier this year we decided that we will take a brief vacation in the summer. A cousin of mine from India was visiting the East Coast (US), so along with all cousins, we decided to have a reunion of sorts in Pennsylvania. Since we were traveling from the West Coast, we decided to make it more than just that and decided to visit some more relatives and friends along the way.

Two years ago, we spent 3 weeks in Europe zipping across France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. This time around we visited Toronto, New Jersey, Washington DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York including almost 2000 miles of driving.

As I sit writing this at a dear friend’s place in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, I am reflecting on the entire experience. I am exhausted, deeply exhausted but not in a bad way. The past 10 days has resulted in us going out of our way to meet people who mean a lot to us. Toronto was a lot of fun – staying with relatives, visiting uncles and aunts after several years, a cousin whom I had never met, their pets and of course, the fabulous Niagara Falls. Driving from Toronto to New Jersey, we arrived late in the evening and had yet another reunion with uncles, aunts, cousins etc. … The next day we left early in the morning from New Jersey to Washington DC, just to meet some friends from our time in Delhi. Then onto Pennsylvania to be with family and friends, interjected with a trip to NYC to watch Anastasia. Overall, a great experience, but yes, isn’t this what vacations are all about, you might ask. Yes, but this vacation was a tad different and that made all the difference to me.

This time around, we decided that the focus of this vacation would be people and not just going to gawk at places we have never seen. We renewed and refreshed a lot of relationships. We reminisced about the past, had fun and food in the present and made plans to meet again in the near future. How we realized that despite the different directions in which we had all moved over the years and decades, the deep affection and friendship that we shared was timeless and was as new as when it began. I am deeply grateful to all the friends that I have made along the way, this is among my biggest treasures.

The second thing I realized was that, I was truly away from work. My colleagues did not try to call me or send me notes that demanded my attention. In fact, a deal that we literally closed, while I was inflight on the first leg of my vacation to Toronto demanded some attention from me, but my boss and all my colleagues were gracious enough not to pull me into any of the nuances – actually I was very curious about what was going on and reached out to some of them to find out. In contrast, the last time I was on my vacation in Europe, I was made to spend hours in completing appraisals for my team which was not due for a while, attend many official calls and help create useless presentations to certain pockets of management – you know the ones which never go anywhere. All of this was when I was out on the road with family or visiting places etc. resulting in me missing out some of the fun. In fact, everybody on the team were told that they would have to be accessible during vacations - the reason given was that senior executives of the company were taking calls and responding to email on their vacations – the same would be expected of us. That vacation did not feel like a vacation, this one did. How I wish that managers would just let their employees have a peaceful vacation away from work. I know many companies are now headed in that directions, but some still stubbornly remain … not sure if it is a company culture or just a single person’s idiocy.

Finally, while the trip was about meeting people but some of the best moments were also what we saw. The lovely Niagara falls reminded me of the awesome beauty that we are blessed with in this planet that we dwell on, the lovely green pastures, mountains and scenery around New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the quaint towns of Lancaster and Lititz, the thrift and antique stores , the local food from many different restaurants, the fresh fruit that were sold on the roadside and the strangers we met at all these places – simply awesome. There is much that this world has to offer – we need to take time, get out and enjoy the people and the places around us.

My daughter simply would not have a vacation in this part of the world without watching a Broadway musical and Anastasia it was. We were simply drawn into the wonderful story which was brought to life through the music and the actors, it was a fabulous performance. That was not the end of the experience. The cast came out on their way out – each in their regular clothes, walking out and blending with the crowds in busy Manhattan. The main actors took time out to meet the eager folks waiting outside, sign autographs, pose for selfies and even talk to them. Christy Altomare, the very talented lead actress took the time to meet, talk to every single person waiting in line, got to know where each person was visiting from, allowing each guest to say what they had to say, signed autographs, took selfies and thanked every single person for coming. That blew my mind. She did not have to do that, but she did. She was the top artist in this play and she could have acted high and mighty, signed just a few autographs and left in a hurry but she did not. She was humble, down to earth and truly engaged with every person. How I wish that I too would always be humble and engage with everybody that comes across me with the same sincerity, no matter what title or designation I hold.

When I reflect back, this vacation was more than just a break, it gave me a lot of happiness, but it also allowed me to learn much and gave me a lot to think about. I hope my next vacation would similar too!!!