Thursday, July 26, 2012

Vacay

So I'm going on vacation.  It's never actually been my strong suit, the whole "relax" thing.  It's not that I don't like the idea of lying on a beach with a Corona and a book, it's just that once I get there...the monkeys in my brain start chattering and then I start wanting to make plans and decisions and suddenly it's not so much "relaxing" as it is "getting something done," which I think is the exact opposite of vacation.  I think it has to do with either the Protestant work ethic I was raised with or it might be an avoidance technique, but the net result is the same:  non relaxation.  All I can think about is how much I'd like to be at home in my routine, doing the stuff I know how to do, for better or worse, 'cause the stuff you can predict- even if it sucks- is so much better than the stuff you can't- even if it's good.

But TMOTH and the kids insist that we go on vacation so I go 'cause NOT going seems like a recipe for divorce and/or Bad Mama of the Year Award nomination.  Plus, deep down, I'd like to be a person who wants to go on vacation.  Someone who "recreates."  (Is that the verb form of recreation?  'Cause it seems like it should be.)

So this year, I think I'm going to take a different approach.  I'm going to try to do more reflection- on the best parts of the year, on the things that will make me strongest in the year ahead- and less focusing on the stuff I think I should be doing. No thinking about how I should be doing vacation differently (More chasing kids and building fairy houses!  More vegetables and fewer Pringles!) or work or house stuff, or the zillion and 2 projects that need doing...I'm going to think about my books and I'm going to watch my kids play on the beach and I'm going to toast marshmallows every freaking night if I want to.  I'm going to eat ice cream and sleep late and maybe do Yoga where I can see the water even though it means that people will see my 42-year-old Down Dog, which is not pretty by any means.

I'm going to have the most badass Vacay I can put together.  I'm thinking there will be many, many Coronas involved.