where to go

A lot of people spend more time planning their vacations than planning for their retirement. They obsess over travel details and cruise-wear wardrobes, but neglect IRAs and 401k savings. They demand "cookies" and gifts rather than being happy with what they have. They seek the company of jerks though they are in relationships that work... They are always looking forward to something more rather than admiring where they are. And, perhaps, they are never truly happy because they are constantly looking for the next “fix”.

Do I sound bitter this morning? No, just observing and stating facts. Perhaps this is the beauty, the zen if you will, of Vacations From Home. Life comes at you quickly and it is a wonderful lovely precious fleeting thing. How many of us realize how far we've already come just to get to this point in our existence, how complicated and rare that we are here at all, breathing and smiling at the myriad of sensations available to us? Do any of us realize how much joy there is in just being here.....? How many of us are instead spending our lives anticipating and waiting and hoping and wishing and never happy because our hopes and aspirations are never realized? But here at Vacations From Home central we don't have the opportunity to pine for island climes because we don't have the bucks. Yet, rather than ruining the day wishing for something that ain't happening we find the joy in our surroundings and immediate environment. Yes, we are forced into our happiness by our circumstances. Happiness then oozes from our pores. Our collective smiles threaten to whiten the teeth of all passersby. Our joy is boundless and infectious. Small animals in city parks clamor to be near us and birds chirp ever so lovingly when we pass. Strangers marvel at their luck to be graced by this dynamic traveling duo and try to "friend" us on every social network application available out there on the internet.

Consider it another way. Rather than engaging in a riotous game of tug of war, we’ve let go of the rope. Rather than getting worked up over the barn burning down, we smile broadly at the new view we have of the full moon.

Of course, we’re dilettantes to our core. What better way than the Grand Tour? There’s a stretch of sand and a Mai Tai in Waimea Bay, or is that a rum swizzler in St. Lucia, or a carafe of sangria in Sitges, waiting for us? I’d settle for ouzo in Ia. Sadly, reaching these far-flung locales is far-fetched for us now and we’re planning a weekend in Pittsburgh to see a Pirates baseball game and while there we hope to get on the “mullet cam”. 

Again, I’m not bitter, just stating the facts. I am looking forward to this trip the third weekend in April, but yesterday on the first day of Spring I spent a good long while smiling at my forsythia bushes now in full bloom in the backyard and I wanted to be nowhere else.