“Vacations are seen as an antidote to work. They are medicine, a remedy for counteracting the effects of labor…. Vacations allow us to be away from the job, to change the patterns of our day, to alter our routine, to reconfigure our actions and habits, to rediscover ourselves.”
~ AL GINI, The Importance of Being Lazy
Do you know how a room feels ‘different’ somehow, when you’ve just cleaned all of the windows? You realize you’ve been living in a fog, and suddenly the whole world seems anew, brighter. I’m experiencing that feeling in reverse. It’s as though I’m standing outside the cleaned window, looking in. The time away polished the window to my life here at home.
Mark Twain says the secret of success is making your vocation your vacation. As I sat with my calendar and to-do lists yesterday, it was easy to pick out what feels like vacation and what feels like work. What I want to do, and what I have to do. But do I really have to do the things I don’t want to do? Nope … Time to reconfigure
While I expected that the Dalai Lama talks would be the highlight of my trip, they weren’t. They were a bit of a let down, actually. One event had acoustical problems, so we couldn’t hear it. I spent the 3 hours meditating, listening to the rhythm of his voice, and the eb and flow of the large room. The second event, a symposium called ‘Change Your Mind, Change the World’, posed more problems than solutions. My cousin and I both agreed that we are tired of hearing about the problems of the world. I would have preferred green light thinking, a round table of ideas to begin solving some of these issues.
What stands out for me are very simple things …
- * Reuniting with my family, who welcomed me into their home, and made me a part of their tight knit circle.
- * Getting to know each of my four second cousins, feeling like I have brothers and sisters.
- * Seeing the happiness of my uncle, newly remarried at age 80+
- * Touring the Mustard Museum in Madison and sampling at least 30 of the 300+ mustards. Talk about ODing
- * Sharing a pitcher of beer and watching a fabulous lightening show at UW Madison’s Student Union along the lake with my cousin and her roommate
- * Remember what it’s like to spend time with people in academia … Almost made me want to go back to school. Almost …
- * Staying overnight in a Hostel
- * Buying books from a hare krishna guy outside the Dalai Lama event. Best $20 I’ve spent in a while, especially if the young soul really will use it to travel and spread world peace.
- * Exploring an apothecary, buying a crystal deoderant stick
- * 2-for-1 ‘swanky’ drinks at the 1920’s Ambassador Hotel lobby bar
- * Poking my head in the Pabst Mansion
- * Yoga on the lawn at Marquette University, just me and my cousin under the budding, spring trees
- * Walking back to my cousin’s apartment with four bottles of wine, laughing all the way, as she used them as dumbells to try to build up muscle for an upcoming interview
- * Taking a Milwaukee River Tour by boat, along with a Pug Convention (yes, there were 50+ pug dogs sharing the boat ride)
- * Being served a whole head of broccoli as my entree at my cousin’s graduation dinner (I’ll be writing about this over at TheTwistedVegan).
- * Coming upon an amazing camp site along the Coeur d’Alene River, and best of all, it was free!
- * Watching a family of geese all day along the river banks.
- * Seeing two moose
- * Exploring the unique Stag Pole Inn & Museum in the small town of Murray, Idaho. Seeing the longest hand carved, wooden chain and eating delicious fried jalapeno slices.
- * Exploring the antique shops and the Bordello Museum in Wallace, Idaho and sampling beers at the Wallace Microbrewery.
- * Discovering the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child, really using my Kindle, and consuming them like they were Lays Potato chips.
- * Learning that I need to pack lighter … Dragging around a 50 pound suitcase by myself was not fun, and my old back is paying for it.
- * Being very grateful to return home to my temperpedic mattress.
- * Knowing that my cats missed me.
Happy Friday ❤
