One of the points of taking a vacation is to forget about all the things you should be doing. You should set your brain at idle and focus on nothing. You’re expected to fritter away the hours and consort with the flowers.
Well, since I’ve retired, I often feel like I’m on a virtual vacation. After years of working hard (blame my engrained work ethic) it’s difficult to simply shut down. However this is what’s expected of us when we take a vacation during our working years. You plan for weeks and sometimes months. You scrimp and save so you can afford to do the things you enjoy. You pack way too much. The whole ordeal of planning a vacation is a job in itself.
Everything is planned down to the smallest detail, but to be truthful, you never really know where the adventure will take you – what obstacles you may encounter – how soon you’ll run out of money – will you need a vacation from your vacation when you return home.
Sometimes the best vacations are those which are unplanned. Now that we’re on a “fixed” income, we have opted for short road trips that take no longer than a day. We’ve discovered some really beautiful country right in our own backyard. Improvisation has always been my forte’ (ask my acting friends) so doing things on the fly can be fun as well as cheap. Never underestimate the power of a senior mind. The local ice cream shop has been a favorite spot to visit. We’ve enjoyed driving through the nature trails of some of the nearby state parks. Sometimes we stop and visit a small town and simply enjoy the simplicity of old time living. There are tons of beautiful lakes and resort towns where we live.
When we age, however, we never know what condition we’re going to be in from day to day. For the past two weeks I’ve been catching up on my sleep following acting in another show. I’ve discovered new aches and pains, probably hidden because the show had to go on. When you work at full blast for a while, it takes us a lot longer to recover.
So now that our days are growing shorter and our time on this planet is limited, what should we do? Well, we could succumb to aging and wait until our number is up, or we could challenge ourselves once more and once more again. Every day is a gift no matter what you’re age. Enjoy every one of them while you can.
This former educator is a trip planner par excellent— planning everything to a T — I often wish I could a tad bit more spontaneous but I think it’s the the years of an ingrained work ethic like you say— we’re taking the show on the road tomorrow however with the Mayor, Sheriff and their parents so we will see if it kills me or I love it 😬
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Bless your heart. Having two young ones with you as you travel deserves the red badge of courage ❤️
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Oh not to fret— two cars— me and Gregory and them in another 😎
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Enjoy and send pictures💕
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I shall—I’m so excited because I think Autumn will really enjoy herself this summer vs last summer when she was a wee 6 mos lass. She’s almost 18 months.
The Sheriff however will just endure 🙂
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Back about five years ago, when I still thought of working full time, I had an interview in a small town west of Beatrice, NE. The town reminded me so much of the town that I grew up in that I was startled by it. It was if the town was frozen in time. Their high school mascot was the Jeffs, as in Mutt and Jeff. I felt the town calling me, but the company’s team that interviewed me was not impressed. There are a lot of towns nearby that remain as they were years ago. I think my wife and I might take another road trip.
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Do it❤️❤️
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Like MacArthur said, “war plans only last 5 minutes into the battle, then you make it up from there.”
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Yes! Every day is a gift!! Thank you for this reminder, dear Kathy! ❤ ❤
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You are most welcome, my friend. Glad to see you back if only on a random basis. You must be very busy.
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