Summer Family Vacation

After you become empty nesters, family vacations can change a lot. Our two boys had grown up and married, and our daughter was unofficially engaged to be married but living a couple of hundred miles away due to her job. But even though they are grown, they know who is the head of the household and who they had better obey. So when their mom says we should all get together, theonly ask, “How soon?” I just say, “Yes, dear.”

Well, my wife went above and beyond that year. She did some research online and managed to reserve a cabin with six bedrooms for us to have a big family reunion. It had more space than we needed, but it made for a really relaxed atmosphere where people weren’t cramped together. Located in the Truckee area near Lake Tahoe, the temperatures were nice, the views stunning, and the cabin isolated and private. I especially welcomed the huge hot tub on the back deck, as I knew hiking in the mountains would mean I would need it!

We all arrived on Friday morning at various times and claimed our respective bedrooms. We had arranged for my daughter’s boyfriend to have his own bedroom because, after all, we are a Christian family. And since we made the reservations, my wife and I got the big bedroom. After a wonderful lunch, we got in our hiking shorts, hiking shoes, and T-shirts for a walk in the woods. While we were traveled a beautiful mountain trail, I happened to glance over and notice that my wife had on a nice white t-shirt with an embroidered pattern but no bra underneath. After all those years of marriage, my eyes communicated to her a question that had popped into my mind. She just smiled and said something about everyone needing to relax, and this is the way she felt the most relaxed. I didn’t notice until later that both of my daughters-in-law and my daughter had done the same thing, but they had on darker-colored shirts.

After we got back to the cabin, we all needed showers. It was nice that each bedroom had its own bathroom with separate water heaters. What happened next was unexpected. After we had all showered, we met as agreed down at the kitchen to prepare dinner together. That’s not unusual, but the fact that no one bothered to put anything on after their showers was. I had not realized that what my daughter and wife had decided to do was to show her boyfriend Greg something about our family that we didn’t share with just anyone. We had raised our children in a home where nudity was nothing unusual and where we actually never paid it any special attention. We wanted it to be completely normal so as to divorce it from the culture’s assumption that nudity equals sex.

Greg was the last to come downstairs, and the look on his face was priceless! We all just acted like it was a normal evening of preparing dinner and having a meal together. After we cleared the table, I went outside and turned on the hot tub. I could hear the water jets calling out for my back muscles! While I was out there, my daughter Sarah stepped outside for a moment. She just wanted to tell me how much she appreciated us accepting Greg into the family. He was sworn to confidentiality because he knew many might not understand.

Once the hot tub was going, we all slipped in. Everyone relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company. It felt so authentic and free of the pretense that wardrobes can bring. It was then that Greg and Sarah let us know that they had set a date for their wedding and were officially betrothed. I envisioned my bank account about to take a major hit. But she’s my little girl, so I was okay with that. Plus no one was paying attention to me anyway since my sons’ wives were busy congratulating her and staring at that ring!

So what happened sexually? Nothing! We just spent the weekend enjoying each other’s company and reconnecting—well, except for the occasional couple taking moonlit walks outside, and familiar noises of ecstasy suddenly coming from the forest. But not anything I witnessed. I’m sure all the married couples made love in the evenings in their individual bedrooms, but that’s not what nudity is about, so they weren’t experiences shared with others.

We were all smiles, with a few tearful hugs goodbye when we left Monday morning. This vacation plan my bride hit out of the park! Years later, this remains one of my most treasured memories of our 30 years together. And I suspect, based on timing, that we got a grandchild as a result of it! All in all, a great weekend!