6 Things I Learned on My Summer Vacation

There’s nothing like waking up at the beach with the realization that you have absolutely NOTHING  to do. There is no deadline, no laundry pick-up, no calls to make. Well, there could be, but when on vacation I pretend that I have entered a parallel universe that forbids me to connect with my work life.

Vacation is a chance to unwind until I walk like the Scarecrow. Vacation is the best classroom, with a teacher formed by the confluence of wind and sea and pelicans.

Here are six things I learned while on vacation. . . .

1. Time is not a friend I would choose. Just prior to starting my vacation, I do something I learned from my father. I take off my watch and put it in my dresser drawer. Yes, I realize that time will be screaming at me from my phone and the clock in my car and the clocks in the cabin, but it doesn’t matter. It’s a symbolic ritual that allows me to ignore time altogether. Because time can be like that intrusive neighbor who always wants to know what you’re doing. Time is Mrs. Kravitz, always peering out her window.
2. I am, at best, an occasional achiever. It’s true – while I tell people that I’m a workaholic, sometimes I question that belief. At the beach, my schedule went something like this – wake up, walk, eat, read a book which requires no highlighting, eat, go to the beach, read, eat, shower, eat, and read. I thought that I would write my next book this week, or ponder my next blog. I didn’t. I barely moved.
3. I can learn something from back hair. I know this is extremely judgmental, but I like to people-watch while on the beach, and every time a man walked by with more hair on his back than this head, I visualized the woman who had to put sunblock on him each morning. I am sure the men with hair on their back didn’t appreciate staring at the July 4th celebration put on by the veins in my legs, either, so I let it go and learned to appreciate the hair. Or at least divert my eyes.
4. I love to make people laugh. It’s true. Even when I’m trying to inspire, I go for the laugh. The kids think I’m frighteningly ignorant, since I will exaggerate my short-comings shamelessly just to see them smile. Most of the time I think out loud, which can be unintentional and embarrassing, especially when I say things like – “Is Vincent Price still alive?” Bashing my head into the cabinet while reaching for the Bisquick was also unintentional. I am still sporting the knot on my forehead. I’m not sure how I visually missed a big, white, kitchen cabinet. but at least it got a laugh.
5. My heart needs the ocean, but it makes me cry. Every time I go to the beach, I start out soothed by the womb-like sounds of the ocean. I feel close to nature, and to God, and am in awe of the magnificence around me. That’s day one. By day three I’m sitting on the sand trying not to bawl like a baby, and by day five I need a full-time therapist. I don’t know what it is about the beach. Maybe it’s all of the men passing by with hair on the backs.
6. There’s nothing better than being with my family (and friends). This year, both of my kids came to the beach, and two of their closest friends popped in for a visit. Sitting around the table playing poker was a blast. My husband, who refuses to admit that he’s color blind, was repeatedly throwing in black chips when blue chips were called for. I went all in on a hand because I thought a straight could include Queen, King, Ace, Two, Three. And our game of Scattergories included me coming up with the word “dildo” as a hobby which grossed my kids out in a variety of ways. But we laughed, and the sound was heavenly.

My sighs are already turning into gasps . . .

Vacation provides the opportunity to exhale. I started sighing the moment we left the house, and sighed until we pulled into the driveway at home.

Now I feel myself holding my breath a little more as I look at everything that needs to be done. There are clients to serve and bills to pay.

But tonight, I’m going to read a book that does not require highlighting. I’m going to relish the runners with back hair who pass by my house.

Because vacations connect me with my true self. And that, my friends, is a very good feeling.