My Vacation

Whenever I think of a vacation, I start to plan where I want to go and what I want to see and how I can pack as much as possible into the time that I have available. Then I run around like crazy with all of the planning and organizing and packing and making sure that I have everything (and let’s not forget the anticipation and excitement) and by the time I head out to the car or the airport, I am already feeling a bit exhausted. Then I proceed to do as much as possible before I have to head home and once I am there, I have to unpack, do laundry, maybe grocery

I have truly learned that, for me, a real vacation doesn’t mean that I have to go somewhere and do things on a non-stop basis. I know that vacation time spent at home doesn’t mean that I have to clean closets and catch up on all of the chores that need to be done around the house.

shopping and get ready to return to work. And when I finally sit down, I realized that I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.

That all changed this week when Kirk and I decided to take a couple of vacation days after the 4th of July. We planned nothing and decided that we didn’t want to go anywhere away from home. That meant that we could sleep as late as we wanted without the alarm clock forcing us to be up at a certain time and we could go to sleep whenever we chose. We could even take a nap if we wanted. That freedom alone is worth its weight in gold.

For the 4th, we had an indoor picnic. We had all of the usual holiday fare but purchased the baked beans and potato salad, etc. and all we had to do was cook the hot dogs and open the containers. We enjoyed our meal in the evening while watching 4 hours worth of fireworks programming on TV and had the best seats in the house. And when we finished, we could just sit back and relax for the rest of the evening.

On Thursday, I never left the house. I slept in, did some tweeting, spent time doing some studying and meditation and writing and relaxing. It was perfect having no deadlines or obligations and doing what I wanted, when I wanted, at the pace I wanted.

On Friday, I did meet a friend for lunch at her office and we took that lunch to the park that was nearby. We chatted and got caught up on what was happening in our lives and I met a bunch of her co-workers who were all so very delightful. And then Kirk picked me up and we headed to the beach where we lounged at a local hotel with a glass of wine and some hors d’oeuvres for about an hour and then parked ourselves on a bench for the next several hours. The weather was perfect, the breeze waswonderful, the sun shown brightly and it was so much fun enjoying the water and watching the people playing all around.

Saturday brought more rest and relaxation. I wrote and played and meditated and added Pinterest to my life while Kirk was busy trying out his new camera and discussing how he would be using it for all of the websites that he manages. We relaxed and watched a little TV in the evening and had a cocktail with some snacks and I was so relaxed that I decided to shut down the laptop, the iPad, the iPhone and step away from the technology for the rest of the evening. I can’t say that I have ever done that since the time that I got my first computer.

Now it is Sunday, the last day of the vacation, and I can truly say that I have never felt more relaxed and refreshed and ready to face a new work week as I am today. I have truly learned that, for me, a real vacation doesn’t mean that I have to go somewhere and do things on a non-stop basis. I know that vacation time spent at home doesn’t mean that I have to clean closets and catch up on all of the chores that need to be done around the house. All that can wait for another day or week or month or whenever. It will all get done sooner or later but not today. Today I am still on vacation and I am not going to waste one minute of this very special time because I deserve to treat myself to a break, too. I think that I need to pour myself a glass of lemonade and go out on the porch right about now. Hope you enjoy your summer vacation as much as I have enjoyed mine!