My childhood was beautiful.
\nEvery summer, our green family \u201cZhiguli\u201d would rumble toward the lakes and the seaside.
\nBut I never had the chance to go on farther trips as a child.<\/p>\n
My first \u201cencounter\u201d with an airport happened\u2026 during my university years.
\nWhen I set off to \u201cconquer\u201d America.
\nAlright, alright.
\n\u201cSettle down, V\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t feel like a conqueror at all, because my first flight\u2014with layovers through airports too big for my mind to comprehend\u2014made my eyes grow to the size of coconuts. Almost lifting them out of my face.<\/p>\n
America smelled, first and foremost\u2026 like dollars.
\nLike taking home MY OWN \u201cbucks.\u201d
\nFor my first-ever wheels\u2014this felt like cosmic-level success.
\nAnd luck smiled at me.<\/p>\n
After four months of \u201cconquering\u201d America and bending my back in two jobs\u2014
\nA Toyota of unprecedented (to me) beauty rolled into the driveway.
\nTrue.
\nIt was a 1994 model.
\nBut\u2026
\nTerribly beautiful.<\/p>\n
A few rust spots on its sides didn\u2019t spoil the perfection at all.
\nTo my awe-filled eyes, they were like charming \u201cbeauty marks.\u201d
\nWhich Dad promised to spray over with some paint.<\/p>\n
And even though on my first trip to Vilnius my \u201cdream car\u201d started winking its \u201ccheck engine\u201d light\u2014
\nI loved it.
\nBecause it was the trophy of my first \u201clived\u201d journeys.<\/p>\n
Besides the \u201cbucks\u201d brought for my dream,
\nI saw Niagara Falls, Broadway theaters, and stood with my head thrown back in New York.
\nBecause I believed that coming to America and not seeing the most famous sights was, at the very least, a \u201csin.\u201d<\/p>\n
After graduation, I slipped into wedding shoes.
\nThen came the HONEYMOON trip.
\nWe didn\u2019t dare dream of terribly faraway lands yet, as our thoughts were busy with acquiring our own family nest.<\/p>\n
We flew to Egypt.
\nAfrica!!!!\u2014I shouted in my mind.
\nAnd I didn\u2019t allow myself to think that being THERE, I might miss the mummy museum, of all things, at +40\u00b0C\u2026 and the pyramids.
\nWhich we had to reach AFTER AN ENTIRE NIGHT of travel!<\/p>\n
My husband and I stood, exhausted after a sleepless night on the bus in a remote spot, trying to take in the beauty of this world wonder.
\nBut we didn\u2019t see it.
\nNot a bit.<\/p>\n
We just didn\u2019t say it aloud to each other.
\nBut during the night ride back, we quietly admitted that even a postcard from the hotel would have been enough.
\nYet some \u201cmust see with your own eyes\u201d instinct drove us to rush through the trip, ticking off visited places.
\nOtherwise, it wouldn\u2019t \u201ccount\u201d that we\u2019d been there.<\/p>\n
Later, our travels gained momentum.
\nThey were only paused for awaiting miracles and the first years of raising Do-Pa-My, when I was basically a walking \u201ckitchen.\u201d
\nAnd returning home to leave the children with the grandparents\u2014trips hit with a bang.<\/p>\n
Finally, on a long-awaited vacation,
\nI realized that \u201cbreaking free from the chain\u201d isn\u2019t necessary.
\nAnd if I visit a new country without ticking off a pile of must-see sites, no one will condemn me.
\nNo one will scold me.
\nNo one will poke at my soul with a \u201clazybones\u201d stone.<\/p>\n
I learned not to rush, but to enjoy.
\nTo travel and explore as much as I want.
\nTo see what we discover ourselves, not what sits on the \u201cmust see\u201d lists, usually crowded with tourists.<\/p>\n
I return from yet another vacation
\nwith my mind full of impressions:
\nSlow walks along the coast.
\nExploring a coral reef.
\nCollecting beautifully shaped shells.
\nSwimming in unbelievably blue waters.
\nA birthday safari full of extreme experiences.
\nEyes feasting on cute little boats gliding along the marina.
\nCozy evenings in local taverns, where the friendly service and memories will hold the incredible taste of seafood.<\/p>\n
Finally, I understood that the best travel memories
\naren\u2019t \u201cchecked pluses.\u201d
\nThey are about slowing down.
\nAnd allowing yourself to breathe in what daily life lacks most\u2014
\nA sense of calm and \u201cstop, what a charming moment.\u201d
\nA feeling you can not only \u201cgrab\u201d but also savor.
\nAs much as you want.
\nEven\u2026
\nTo your heart\u2019s content.<\/p>\n
Directly from the plane, flying home to the ones I miss,
\nV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-17732","istorija","type-istorija","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istorija\/17732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istorija"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/istorija"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}