It’s the Tuesday before Memorial Day weekend here, and since today is my last day in the office before we leave, colleagues have been asking what my plans will be this long weekend, and I’ve been asking them. A number of them will be traveling for beach locations along the east coast or for weddings, but most will be here, spending time with friends and family at barbecues and the usual gatherings that happen during the first weekend that marks the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere.

I can’t remember ever going to a Memorial Day barbecue in my life. Maybe we did them growing up in our own backyard, but I don’t remember ever attending one. We often went to family friends’ homes for Independence Day barbecues, but I don’t really think I realized Memorial Day barbecues were a thing until I became an adult. And as horrible as it sounds, I don’t miss the idea of going to one during Memorial Day weekend, especially if I know I could be traveling to see something new during that time. They just sound so… mundane to me. I get bored hearing of these things. Maybe that makes me seem like a loner. Or maybe, that could make me seem like I don’t like people, or that I think I’m too good for a family and friends gathering on that day of the year. But… I kind of don’t care. I like that we use this time to travel and explore other parts of the country and world we haven’t been to. Maybe it makes us less relatable, but again, I don’t care. I’m happy to do our own thing. We have each other and the world. That seems like enough.