Waving Goodbye to the Wave
The summer of 2021 has turned out to be so much better than that of 2020, but did we really expect it to NOT be better? Covid-19 is still around, but many have been fortunate enough to become vaccinated. With the vaccine it has been deemed possible that vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear masks and remain 6 feet apart. With many of our lives being able to return to what we once knew with being around family, friends, and loved ones, many of us have been able to freely travel and vacation!
Now my family was very fortunate to take a trip to the Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, but that trip is not what we’ll be discussing in this blog. If anything, the touristy strip and shops go against what I’ve discovered from two other mini-getaways we were able to experience this summer.
My brother-in-law has had a lot at a campground since he was a kid. It was his mom’s and then handed over to him. This isn’t just any campground, it’s one of those glamping sites, with the park model trailer that has A/C, beds, kitchen and a bathroom. You know, a mini house. Luckily, he never subscribed to cable, so the TV only has a DVD player that the kids use to fall asleep at night while the adults enjoy the fire and star-filled sky. One of my favorite parts, as well as many of the kids, is that everyone cruises around on golf carts! I don’t know why, but there’s something about just cruising on a golf cart around the campground that makes me feel so free. And, as we cruise, every other golf cart we pass, every camp lot that has folks eating outside or sitting by their fire does the same thing. They wave.
Jump a few weeks ahead and our good friend is celebrating her 42nd birthday. Her boyfriend has had a lakehouse in his family since he was a child. For her birthday he invited all of us over. We spent the day watching the kids swim and paddleboard in the lake, and even play King of the Hill on the huge floating mat. We grilled out, ate, and told stories many of us have heard hundreds of times but still all laughed like it was the first time hearing them. After dinner some left, but those that were staying overnight headed onto the pontoon boat for a cruise around the lake. We admired the various lake houses, some recently remodeled ones and our jaws dropped at their size and beauty. And as we cruised, every other boat we passed, every house that had folks eating outside or sitting by their fire, swimming off their pier did the same thing. They wave.
“Yeah, everyone waves at you out here, not like back home in Chicagoland.”
And that declarative sentence from our friend’s boyfriend got me thinking how true it was. At home, during our busy lives, strangers don’t wave. Everyone tries to avoid eye contact, maybe staring at their phones, remaining engulfed in their own lives and what they need to get accomplished that day. Yet, at a campground and lake, the same people we pass every day “back home” will wave. And not only wave, but throw in a smile for you too!
Why? Why is this? Why is it easier to share a wave and a smile to a complete stranger while on “vacation”? “Vacation” is a time we are already at ease, relaxed, and enjoying being unplugged and time with our loved ones. A smile and wave from a stranger are just like a dessert, something we don’t really need but will gladly take and feel no guilt. I think we have this backwards. The times we really need that smile and wave, that human connection from others just acknowledging our presence, is when we are in our daily lives, dealing with stresses that strangers we pass on the street will never know.
I challenge you to share a smile and a wave every day, with every one you pass. Yes, you may feel awkward, it may be uncomfortable. Yes, others will quickly look away or make a face, grabbing their children closer to them as you pass. But there may be that one person, that one who is fighting demons so strong they are on the verge of giving up, and your simple wave and smile is just what they need.
