Vacation- the word has a mystical ring, doesn't it? Dim childhood recollections of "Don't bounce on the bed!" in crisp, clean hotel rooms and the delight of arrival at mysterious new destinations. To a little kid vacation means an adventure.

To an adult (an adult like me, anyway) the word vacation means a recharging relaxation of spirit. It means a freedom from the rude intrusion of morning alarm clocks and the grinding hustle and monotony of the daily drive.

It means the ability to truly experience a day. Just knowing that I don't have to go to work tomorrow temporally dilates each moment. I am able to relax because I am not trying to maximize the use of each minute between getting home and going to bed. I can sit out on the back porch and read a book for an hour without the fact that I have just disposed of 20% of an evening's time at home nagging me and making me tired.

We aren't going anywhere or doing anything specific for vacation this year, but the next month or so, of which I have the first week and a half off, will be spent in the company of my father.

He has driven from his home in Mesa, AZ to spend a few weeks us. He will get to meet Isaiah face to face for the first time! He'll also be here for my sister's wedding in June. He's at her house right now and will get to ours tomorrow. He'll be here for father's day, his birthday, Memorial day, and as I said before, my sister's wedding.

Today I eased into the whole vacation mentality. Isaiah goes to Play Pals, an interaction/developmental period for kids- basically supervised playtime with a class of 10-20 of his contemporaries, on Thursday morning and I took advantage of my freedom to join him as I rarely get to do. Today was the third session of this particular class and after two weeks of adjustment to an older class, he was very good and he, Ruth, and I all had a good time. It makes me feel good to see how much more vocal, polite, and considerate he is than all the other kids- many of which are older than he is. He is a happy, good-natured boy and I am a very lucky parent.

After Play Pals, we picked up lunch at Hardee's and took it by Ruth's folks house. We had left Kroger with them while we were at class so she could run in their back yard.

After lunch we took Kroger back home with us. Isaiah was asleep by the time we got home and I put him in bed for his nap. Since it was my first day of vacation, I joined him. I snoozed in the living room while Ruth worked on some craft projects and made some progress in the ongoing cleaning program we are concluding tomorrow coincident with my dad's arrival and the fact that Ruth is having a shower for my sister, Robin, here Saturday. With a two year old, a clean house is not as much a state as an instantaneous snapshot of the state of a house.

This evening we went to Wal-Mart with my mom to get stuff for Robin's shower. Now, let me tell you I just love knocking around Wal-Mart- about as much as having a tooth drilled, but even Wal-mart is fun with Isaiah around. He and I had lingered for a moment to trace my dad's route across the country in an atlas and when I looked up Mommy and Grandma were gone. As we headed towards their last know intended location, Isaiah asked me if we could go "to the garden area". It is amazing to me how he puts things togehter and articulates his thoughts. And of course, what can you say to a request like that? We found Mommy and told her we were going to the garden area to look at lawn mowers.

Vacation day one was spent doing nothing particular- just hanging around. The way I see it, that's the way it ought to be. Maybe when Isaiah is older we'll start going on vacations. This year we are staying home for vacation. Sure, next week will probably be spent going to the zoo and to the park for picnics and stuff like that with Grandpa Roger, but I'm fully relaxed and looking forward to staying that way.

We'll be staying up late and getting up late and doing what we please in between.

That's what a vacation ought to be!

Yeah, well, it's OK but not great. Gimme a break, though, it's been forever since I wrote one of these. Maybe now with my extra spare time and all I'll get back in practice.