The times I have felt most content and in the moment correlate almost perfectly with a peak level of freedom. In other words, I feel best when I am most free. Or when we, as a family, are most free. And by free, I mean unfastened to external ties. From the people and systems and the devices that impose varying levels of control over our lives. 

I’ll give you some of my favorite examples. The day I drove from the coast to the summit of Mauna Kea to sit in the snow and stare out over the Pacific Ocean. An experience I had dreamt of for 25 years. During the entirety of this excursion the thought of an obligation to another never entered my mind. Or the time I went on a long walk in the desert near Uluru. The silence that morning was so complete the rest of world seemed not to exist. Or the time I sat for hours in the lobby of our hotel in Marfa while all of you busied yourselves with crafts at a nearby table. In this particular place, I had no cell service. A powerful storm thrashed the hotel’s floor to ceiling windows that afternoon. It was mesmerizing to watch. In those hours I was completely unburdened, untouchable, impervious even to the concern I would soon feel over how to pay for our road trip.

These are the rare pockets of time that have been wholly my own. And though only a temporary reprieve from life’s obligations, these moments are critically important to our well-being. I do love visiting with friends and family and meeting new people. I do love my work. But I long for undisturbed time with you. For undisturbed time with your mother. And for undisturbed time alone.