A Vacation to Recover from a “Vacation”
Her parting look was grateful; and her parting words, ‘Oh!…the comfort of being sometimes alone!’ seemed to burst from an overcharged heart, and to describe somewhat of the continual endurance to be practised by her, even towards some of those who loved her best. Emma, chapter XLII
Drake, Guppy and I spent nearly two weeks out east visiting family. I am quick to correct those who call it vacation. For me, a vacation is time away for R & R (rest and relaxation; reading and writing. Either pair works.) Family visits are enjoyable, and may include some of those Rs, but since they are not exclusively, or even largely, about them, I don’t equate them with vacation.
We returned to a messy house, piles of mail, loads of laundry, and a mostly empty fridge. There was work to be done. By Thursday, I felt completely tapped out, and contacted a local retreat center. They had space, so I got me to a nunnery from Friday night to Sunday morning. I got all the Rs, plus some quiet, solitude, and time for meditation. I shunned my tendency to make a to-do list, and instead tried to go with the flow. I was interested to see that my day unfolded reflecting the life priorities I recently clarified: Rest, break fast, read, work on novel, sup, exercise/fresh air, rest, tea and snack, weblog, dine, read, rest.
It was a tremendous relief to get this 36-hour break. When I again saw Drake and Guppy, they were crying, screaming, not listening, and not changed at all by my time away. I’m not sure I was changed by it, either. But I did get a bit of time and space to replenish my reserves of patience so I could wade back into the fray. I think it’s naive to think that a brief break will magically make us more tranquil. It did make me feel less tapped out. And that’s something.