Content to be Unscheduled

I am taking vacation.

Four blissful days with a weekend sandwiched in between. A little getaway taking me away from my office for nearly a week.

I’m thrilled. I’m even more thrilled that I don’t have anything planned.

Don’t get me wrong. If we had the money and Brett had the vacation time, we’d be headed to numerous vacation spots. We’d both like to go day tripping to Galena or Springfield, or overnighting in Door County or Wisconsin Dells, or longer trips to Florida, Vermont, Maine, and (while we’re dreaming) Hawaii. Or Alaska. We both have a yen to see the frozen shores.

But we’ve neither additional money nor vacation time (in Brett’s case that is. I have oodles of vacation time).

So, I’ve opted to spend a couple of unscheduled days off with nothing planned except for NOT going in to the office.

I tried an “unscheduled” vacation a couple of months ago and found the whole thing rather relaxing. It was so nice to have flexibility to do what I wanted when I wanted and know my paycheck would still be the same meager amount when I went back to work.

Thankfully, I have things I need to do (cleaning) and I want to do (writing) which are absolutely free. Which IS about all I can afford.

The way vacation works around here is…take it as soon as your schedule clears, since you don’t know when you’ll be free again. Just recently I finished two monstrous (albeit professionally satisfying) projects. My schedule cleared, and I saw a way to wheedle out of the few small tasks on my calendar and opt for vacation instead.

My boss (who has been after me for some time to TAKE a vacation for any length of time) quickly signed off on my request and even talked me into adding two more days than I’d originally planned.

So, I’m excited just contemplating the days ahead. I’ve already told myself NOT TO PLAN – because we all know what happens when we plan anything. Or I know in any case, that if I plan it, it won’t get done.

So, I’m just saying that if the cleaning bug bites then (for once) maybe I’ll have the energy to tackle one of my many dust filled rooms. Or finish a new chapter in Bruised. Or simply sleep until noon and then indulge in a couple episodes with my favorite pioneer, Dr. Quinn – Medicine Woman.

Who knows? I don’t, and that’s the deliciously juicy part of the whole thing!