05/20/2026
âWeâre going to our grandparentsâ cottage.â
Thatâs something I used to hear growing up...especially from some of my friends. And the way they talked about it always made it sound like the best kind of weekend⌠like a whole little world I didnât know about yet.
And Iâd be thinking:"Wait⌠whatâs a cottage?
And how come everybody seems to have one⌠except me?â
I come from Jamaican heritage and my family and I had our own kind of fun. We did things. We went places. Itâs just that the âweekend nature getawayâ thing wasnât really part of my childhood the way it was for some other families.
Nobody in my house was saying, âPack your bags.....weâre going to sit by a lake and be peaceful.â
If anything, we were peaceful because the power went out and there was nothing else to do. But honestly? We had our own kind of joy.
For us, the big hangout spot was the court.
When it was safe, weâd be out there...playing marbles, talking about everything and nothing, laughing until our stomachs hurtâŚ
âŚand of course debating.
Because in our court, everything turned into a debate.
You could say, âI like mango,â and someone would be like,
âSo youâre saying pineapple shouldnât exist?â And someone would have to step in like a referee..... âAlright, alright.....one at a time...both sides will be heard!â
And parents were mostly okay with it because we werenât far. Some of them could literally look out the window and see you. Like neighborhood supervision⌠but the original version.:)
But when it got dark?
Oh, it never failed.
Youâd start hearing parents calling names like it was roll call.
And then youâd hear the one call that ended the whole vibe:
âSTEVENNNN!â
That was one of my friendsâ moms.
And when she called âSteven,â everybody knew what time it was.
No discussion. No âfive more minutes.â
You just started walking home like the lights in the theatre came on.
(Funny enough she and my mom became really good friends.)
In sharing this I'm not saying one kind of childhood is better than another. Different families, different cultures, different routines...and thereâs beauty in all of it.
But Iâll also be honest:
Even though I had a lot of fun, I still remember feeling like I was missing something. Like there was a whole experience.....being in nature, getting away, breathing different air.....that I didnât really get to have.
And thatâs one of the reasons Iâm so passionate about the Exhale Girl's Exhale For All Well-Being experiencing some kind of nature getaway now. Because I know what itâs like to wonder about something youâve never triedâŚand to feel like it might not be âfor you.â
Our yearly getaway to places like Yogi Bear is a big deal for us.
Some of our girls have never been camping.....ever.
So giving them a real camp experience....cabins, campfires, outdoor fun, ... itâs not just a tripâŚitâs a reminder that they deserve space to exhale, explore, and expand their world.
We are so appreciative and thank those who donate generously to our programs to help make things like this possible⌠but I want to especially thank Jolly Farmer Products for helping us bring our girls to camp again this year.
Because trips like these make great memories for them.
Written by: Tanika A. Chambers, Program Director.
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