"We're Going to The Cottage"

“We’re going to our grandparents’ cottage.”

That’s 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 didn’t know about yet.

And I’d be thinking:

“Wait… what’s a cottage?
And how come everybody seems to have one… except me?”

Now, I came from a Jamaican home.
And let me be clear—we had fun. We did things. We went places.

It’s just that the “weekend nature getaway” thing wasn’t really part of my childhood the way it was for some other families.

Nobody in my house was saying,
“Pack your bags—we’re going to sit by a lake and be peaceful.”

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, we’d be out there—playing marbles, talking about everything and nothing, laughing until our stomachs hurt…

…and of course debating.

Because in our court, everything turned into a debate.

You could say, “I like mango,”
and someone would be like,
“So you’re saying pineapple shouldn’t exist?”

And someone would have to step in like a referee:
“Alright, alright—one at a time—both sides will be heard!”

And parents were mostly okay with it because we weren’t far.
Some of them could literally look out the window and see you.

Like neighborhood supervision… the original version.

But when it got dark?

Oh, it never failed.
You’d start hearing parents calling names like it was roll call.

And then you’d hear the one call that ended the whole vibe:

“STEVENNNN!”

That was one of my friends’ moms.
And when she called “Steven,” everybody knew what time it was.

No discussion. No “five more minutes.”
You just started walking home like the lights in the party came on.

And the funny part is—she and my mom became really good friends.

So I share all of this with love, because I’m not saying one kind of childhood is better than another.

Different families, different cultures, different routines—
and there’s beauty in all of it.

But I’ll 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 didn’t really get to have.

And that’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about the Exhale Girls experiencing some kind of nature getaway now.

Because I know what it’s like to wonder about something you’ve never tried…
and to feel like it might not be “for you.”

That’s why a getaway 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, new memories—
it’s not just a trip…

It’s a reminder that they deserve space to exhale, explore, and expand their world.

And we want to thank those who donate generously to our programs to help make things like this possible…
but I want to especially thank Jolly Farmer for helping us bring our girls to camp again this year.

Because trips like these?

They stay with you.