Daily Routines or Vacations?
Our summer Italian holiday included daily gelato.
We returned from our family vacation in Italy last week. Since then, memories have flashed through my mind, like scenes from a dreamy movie.
I was a bit nervous about taking my 3 and 6-year-olds on this trek across the world with the long plane rides, layovers, jet lag. Rarely were there any complaints, though. The kids literally just wanted to come along for the ride. Not to say there weren’t any hiccups, like my toddler waking up at 2 a.m. for our first few days in Italy, but that’s to be expected, and those hiccups smoothed out over our time there.
One of the things I’m always stunned by whenever I visit Europe is one, how gorgeous everything is: terra-cotta roofs lined up against narrow cobblestone streets, ancient castles planted on fields of grass, picture perfect pasta dishes (never served on plastic plates with plastic utensils!), all of which, is connected to the second thing I’m always stunned by: how old everything is compared to my Southern California surroundings. The Italian villages around us were in place since the medieval times as opposed to my own town, which is less than 300 years old. Of course, American history goes back much further than the start of American suburbia, with indigenous tribes whose civilizations are even older than the European ones I marvel at. Most of those tribal lands have been razed over, however, and in its place are strip malls and palm trees.
Some highlights from our trip include:
A cooking class with a chef who taught us to make fresh handmade pasta with Tuscan bolognese sauce and tiramisu for dessert. Surprisingly, much easier than I thought!
Watching my kids inhale Italian pasta and pizza because the quality far exceeds anything we have around us.
Daily gelato.
Long family dinners over many courses and wine glasses.
Drives through the Tuscan countryside.
Slow walks around villages and being inspired by their leisurely cafe culture.
Below are some photos. I also made video reels throughout our time there, that you can see on my Instagram or Facebook pages.
As once in a lifetime this trip was though, there is truly no greater pleasure than returning home, back to the comfort of my own home and routines.
I’m learning this about myself—I love my routines, more than most people. “The best part about trips,” I recently shared with one of my best friends, “is returning home.” “What?” she balked, “I find that to be the worst part!”
Since being back, I started reading The Creative Habit by dancer and choreographer, Twyla Tharp, and she writes how her daily routines are sacrosanct. Her schedule rarely changes from day to day because artists fuel their creativity through set routines: morning workout, healthy breakfast, reading, meditation, lunch, work, so on and so forth, every day, for as long as possible.
This perspective leapt out of the page and shook me up because I assumed the opposite was true. I saw artist-types as spontaneous and driven by their emotional whims. Their spontaneity, I thought, was what fueled their creativity.
Then, it clicked for me as to why I myself, a writer and minister, feel most grounded when I’m rooted in my daily schedule and how traveling, lovely as it is, destabilizes me. I tried to write while in Italy and I couldn’t. The vacation vibe sapped me of my ability to put words together in a way that comes so easily when I’m back at home, at my usual work desk.
Overall, what a delightful discovery! That while I enjoy vacationing and adventures around the world, it’s my daily routines that beckon me home and ground me.
What about you? Do you feel most inspired when practicing your daily routines or when you break out of your routines?
All this to say: if you feel overwhelmed by (or jealous of or pressured by) glitzy, drool-worthy photos and reels on social media of people’s glamorous summer trips, I want you to know:
The sweetest pleasures derive from our everyday, humdrum routines.