A Smart Vacation
January 8, 2011
It’s snowing here in Asheville and the views are beautiful. Still, I find myself thinking about places I’d like to visit. At the moment, those places are snow-free and warm enough to visit without a winter jacket.
But what will I do when I actually travel? Most of us go on vacation to “get away from it all,” but I’ve found that I’m accompanied by my share of everyday patterns. First, I lug my computer with me to check email and news, as though the world somehow can’t be trusted to carry on its business without my oversight. Second, to make sure I am taking advantage of all the wonderful things that the vacation site offers, I pack my schedule tight instead of allowing the adventures to happen in their own sweet time. Third, whenever I start to relax, my mind wanders to thoughts of what else I could be doing at that very moment. I’m the kind of guy who worries whether he’s ordering the right main course at the new restaurant in town.
Oddly, having a wife with MS has helped me. I see how she has to “listen to her body,” which stops her from over scheduling herself. I think it actually helps her see what she really wants to do, rather than what she thinks she ought to do. And that, I think, is the essence of smart vacationing.
