36 Hours

It would be easy to define our little getaway by the train delay on the way back. It would be easy to define the time away as time out of time--simply a grand escape from the mundane responsibilities of every day. It would be easy to define the 36 hours out of town as just that--36 hours somewhere else.
 
None of these definitions would be inaccurate. It was, to be sure, a short getaway, punctuated by a stopped train and a change of venue. But more important, it was the following through on a plan. It was almost complete immersion in a world other than the one we experience daily. It was quiet enough for real hearing and loud enough to counteract the quiet of boredom. It was 36 hours of time well-spent in a life that can contain many, many hours not so well-spent.
 
We can't always be on vacation. We can't always just leave behind our surroundings or our responsibilities for a day and a half.
 
But when we can, maybe we return better able to face reality, or at least with a head full of sights and sounds to counteract reality. When we can, maybe we come away with a little more insight into what makes us tick and what makes us happy. When we can, maybe we come home with not just souvenirs to surround us, but with memories that prop us up when we need them.
 
In a daily life, 36 hours is often just a blip that is behind us before we know it. But when we take hold of our 36 hours, those hours can feel like so much more.