Last week I went on vacation with a sister, my daughter, and one of my granddaughters. We rented a big old renovated farmhouse near three state parks in the grand canyon area of Pennsylvania.
One reason I have trouble being “on vacation” is that I can’t seem to take one from myself. In fact, my self is in my face more dramatically on vacation than when I’m immersed in work at home.
When I’m at home, the tasks are clearly laid out on my “to do” list, and I feel good as I accomplish each one. I go out to the studio and paint. That time slips by quickly and I’m rewarded with a visually stimulating image—even if it is one I’m going to change the next day.
I sit down at my computer to work with Photoshop or Word, putting together an art blog describing the process I used in the studio. It’s pretty straightforward and engrosses my attention.
On vacation, almost everything is flexible—when we get up, what we will do, where we will go. There are no clear tasks except to help cook and clean up if we’re eating in.
What game should we play?
Where should we go for dinner?
Which trail should we try first?
Knowing that my sister and daughter are both capable executive types, who can make any necessary decisions, helped me to relax more than I normally do on vacation. Over the last few years of Adrian’s life, I had to do all the planning and driving and worrying when we traveled.
My daughter doesn’t let anyone drive her van, so that made it easy. I was the navigator, but she didn’t listen to me anyway when she thought she knew the way. So it wasn’t my fault when we got lost one day.
We were all tired and wanted to get back to our home away from home for naps, but my daughter thought it would be great to explore the winding dirt roads we found ourselves on after we took the first wrong turn.
The rest of us put up with it for a while, but I finally plugged in the GPS, who struggled to find her way out there in the middle of nowhere. Finally the guiding satellite was located and her confident voice said, “In point six miles turn LEFT.”
We all took a lot of naps, and I think it’s the nature of vacations to promote them. Just the effort of being pleasant to each other in the same space for five days was exhausting.
But I have to give kudos to my fourteen-year-old granddaughter Rachel for putting up with us. We let her sleep in even though the rest of us were early risers, but after that it was one group activity to the next all day long.
After two days back, resting up, I’m ready to get back to my normal routine.
