It is August, so therefore I find myself in the midst of an intergenerational trip – and somehow unearthing a personality I thought I’d shed decades ago
I
am not one for aphorisms. I grew up with a water-stained copy of a dictionary of quotations by the toilet and, for the most part, by the toilet is where these things belong. But there is one saying by the American philosopher and yoga teacher Ram Dass that has always cheered me: “If you think you’re enlightened, go and spend a week with your family.”
I have no idea if Ram Dass really said this. Just as I’m not sure if the Dalai Lama ever said: “Don’t let the behaviour of others destroy your inner peace.” Or whether Oscar Wilde believed the words he put into the mouth of Lord Illingworth in A Woman of No Importance: “Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them.” But as someone in the middle of a family holiday, I can certainly attest that any delusions about maturity, levity and inner tranquility are thrown firmly down the proverbial U-bend the moment you embark on a Big Family Trip.
If you are lucky enough to have living parents, siblings and children, then the chances are that at least some of your summer will be spent sharing a sofabed with someone who has your eyebrows, if not your surname. A survey by Legal and General found that 46% of those asked think it is important to go on a multigenerational family trip (including immediate and extended family), although 30% of respondents said they feel “stressed” by the prospect of a family holiday – rising to 47% of parents and guardians of children aged under 18.
