Vacation Thoughts

The first "real" family vacation in many years, and most likely the last vacation we will all take together just wrapped up. Overall it was enjoyable. I came into the office today to just check email and pay some bills, and discovered things sort of went crazy while I was gone. Funny how that always seems to happen when I go on vacation for a week.

Even though the flights were covered by miles, taking 5 people on vacation is a rather expensive undertaking. Considering the fact that a week of vacation also costs a self-employed individual like myself a week of revenue, it could be said that the true cost of the trip was triple the amount I actually shelled out.

Something I noticed about this vacation was a rather new attitude about vacations in general. I've become rather jaded these days, and the sights, shows, and attractions we visit during the trip aren't particularly exciting to me anymore. When my participation in an activity, go-carting for example, was optional, I was more than happy to save the money and just watch the boys. The fishing trip might have been a bit more enjoyable if we'd caught more and/or bigger fish, but otherwise it was memorable more for how tired I was when we returned.

In the future, an ideal vacation for me might be just a chance to get away from everything and relax. Or there are some places I haven't seen and would like to someday. Most of those are overseas, because I've pretty much covered the continental US. History fascinates me these days, so I'd probably enjoy a vacation that involved visiting ancient sites or digs.

But for now, the important thing about a vacation isn't my own entertainment, but just being with my family. If they have a good time, that's good enough for me.

Now I have to jump back into work with both feet and earn back what was spent. If the activities that inundated me on my return are any indication, that shouldn't be difficult. Stressful for sure, but it looks like I'll be able to work as many hours as my old bones can handle.