Vacation
Who doesn’t love a vacation? The image of my toes in the sand, a cool drink in my hand…ahhh…heaven.
When I was younger my definition of vacation was narrow, including only the traditional meaning of the word–“a period of time that a person spends away from home, school, or business usually in order to relax or travel.” (Merriam-Webster).
As I get older–although I prefer the word “seasoned” rather than older–I have developed a much broader view of the word, which now encompasses the full definition–”
1: a respite or a time of respite from something : intermission
Vacation means more than just a break. Taking a break from something has its time and place, but taking a vacation is feeding the soul.
It means spending time reading a book in the sun, even if it’s on my backyard patio, with a glass of lemonade, without a shred of guilt from thinking I should be doing something.
Vacation means going somewhere with no phone service, no television, and no computer.
It means pitching a tent in the woods with nothing but a backpack, the smell of oak trees and bonfire smoke, sounds of rustling leaves, black coffee early in the morning, and the ripples on the waters surface to start the day.
It means a day spent lying in a boat floating in the water for an afternoon, throwing a line in to catch dinner, and even dozing off in the sun.
It means picnics under a big oak tree, eating nothing but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chips, stretching out for an afternoon nap afterwards.
What does your ideal vacation look like?
I’ll take any one of those you have listed, Rhonda. I especially like the thought of getting comfortable in chair outside in the sun with a good book and a glass of iced….probably right after I’ve finished working in the garden. I guess I better do that tomorrow before that cold front rolls in. 😀
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Vacation means doing something — anything — you enjoy, without the guilt. That’s the big thing: being able to leave behind the guilt. For me, it would be traveling, or just sitting somewhere and reading or writing without interruption.
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I loved your take on vacation. My view was narrow when younger too. Now I even count a long time spent free of thinking about myself a vacation. I suppose that’s why helping folks can be revitalizing. Small things become so nice as I gain perspective. You zeroed right in on it. Thanks! Hope to read more. Good luck with the A-Z!
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Just about anywhere except home or work is a vacation to me. I like the placed you’ve described IF I still lived up North. But living back in Florida, NO WHERE outside is relaxing. LOL! Just walking to the car feels like work because it’s so hot, humid and sticky. But of course, when I would consider going to snow country a lovely vacation, I’m sure many of my friend up North would want to shoot me. 🙂 Great post! 😀
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Pat – have fun gardening today! We’re going biking to Denver before the cold rolls in. 🙂
Lori – Too often it’s hard to leave the guilt behind, isn’t it?
R Scott – Thank you for dropping by. So glad you did because it led me to your blog.
Rachel – I remember going on family vacations to Florida when I was a kid. Out of everything, the orange groves ranked right up there with Disney World. 🙂
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