Sometimes Nothin' Is A Real Cool Hand

"Vacation never ends, it just changes location." - David Addison

This summer I chose to take some time off. A lot of time off. Even though it would be months before my family would take their southern California tour, I chose to limit my exposure to work for the summer. No summer school. No additional training or seminars. I put myself on a metaphorical island and I stayed there.

And stayed there. The idea that I could stay away from work for two and a half months seemed like wishful thinking at first. Now, at last, I can proudly say that I have managed to deal with the relatively amazing lack of activity in my life. To be sure, there have been scheduled rendezvous here and there and plenty of chores and fixes. Major motion pictures were viewed, and we saw a Beatle. There weren't many days when my son wasn't either on his way over to a friend's house or one of his friends was on their way to ours. There are new windows in the back room and rain barrels in the garage, ready for the rains to come. Birthdays were celebrated. Fathers were feted. We found our way into a river, the ocean, and a few different swimming pools.

Yes, there were a couple calls from school that got me up and out of the house. I confess that I was happy to be back in the halls and classrooms, even if it was only long enough to bring a computer or two back on line. But that was only an hour or two. Otherwise, there were entire days when the only time I went out our front gate was to go for a run. Days passed between what might be described as moments of intentional responsibility. I made lunch. I cleaned up the kitchen. I worked in the garden. The laundry never piled up. We made it to Disneyland.

Now, the curtain comes down on a summer that will be best remembered for nothing. Not because there is nothing to remember, but because it is what I had to do. I don't know when I'll have it in me to do nothing again, since nothing seems to have taken a lot out of me.