Vacation

Summer seems in full swing for my family now.  The first two weeks after school ended were transitional and therefore somewhat unpleasant as we figured what our non-school life was going to feel like.  No morning alarm to wake us.  Debates about what chores must remain even though summer signifies a time of relaxation for the kids.  The first hot, humid days reminding us how grateful we are for air conditioning.  Ripe, red, fresh watermelon from the farmer’s market.  Daylight until almost 9:00pm.  Swim team each morning.  Popsicles on the porch.  A final hallmark for us to know summer has really arrived is a trip to the beach.  Vacation.  

 

Dictionary.com offers the following definitions for the noun vacation.
1.  A period of suspension of work, study or other activity usually used for rest, recreation or travel. 
2. A part of the year regularly set aside when normal activities of law courts, legislatures, etc. are suspended. 
3.  Freedom or release from duty, business, or activity.

If the actually living of vacation is not enough, the words strung together to define it make me love it even more!  Suspension of work!   Freedom or release!  Rest, recreation or travel!  Wahoo!  But, do I experience it that way?  Can I let myself loosen my type A sensibilities for several days and release from duty?  I fully intend to try.  

This year is a new vacation frontier for me.  It will be the first beach trip in a decade that I do not have a baby or toddler or preschooler to care for.  My youngest progeny will be five years old in a matter of days and handles most of life’s day to day self-care duties on her own.  Dressing, getting ready for bed, making a little snack, generally self-entertaining . . . all are skills she possesses.  Phenomenal.  Certainly I am still called upon for bedtime books and beach side supervision, sand castle making and sunscreen application.  But I anticipate being also able to read a novel on the porch undisturbed, write alone in a quiet kitchen, go through a day not worried about nap time, potty time, and potential over-stimulation time.  I’m relearning about my time.  What better event to re-teach me the possibility of these moments than vacation?

The anticipation of a period of suspension from regular work for rest is a gift.  We can all use recreation time even if the beach is too far or not everyone’s cup of tea.  Offering ourselves release from duty for a time each summer for a trip, a picnic or a nap can be one of the best offerings of this time of year.