Pain in the Vacation

Getting ready to go on vacation can be such a pain, that I inevitably ask everytime, "Why are we doing this? Wouldn't it be more relaxing to stay home?" There's all that packing, mail holding, bill paying, plant watering and setting up dog care. We're going to be gone for 10 days, so it amounts to cramming everything I would have done for 7 of those days into this week, and when we get back, I'll be racing to make up those other 3 days.

Truthfully, it would NOT be more relaxing to stay home. You have to leave home in order to leave the responsibilites. I can't sit in my living room without noticing a cobweb in the corner or the fact that I need to vacuum. If I walk by my desk, I'll see all that paperwork I need to catch up on. There's always a closet that needs cleaning out or something that needs scrubbing. When I'm away, the cobwebs and dust are someone else's problem and my paperwork is out of sight. I'm am forced to relax, read a good book, paint with Pipsqueak or take a walk.

During the next 4 days, while I'm feeling tortured by my to-do list, I'll look back at this post, and try to remember that it will be worth it.

The view from the porch of our rental house in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Cape Ann Whale Watch, Gloucester, MA taken in August 2007.