Holidays

We just returned from a trip to western Canada to visit our children and grandchildren. we were only there for a week and that wasn't nearly enough time to get to know the "grands" and I didn't really have any time to talk to my son. We live so far away and telephone conversations are never really satisfying. The bonus is that we were out last year and this trip was rather unexpected. My sister suggested that we go and this was a major surprise since we had never vacationed together before. The trip was not an unqualified success. My sister is ten years older than I am and she has trouble walking - mostly because, I suspect, she does so little of it. She also tends to be rather negative and each day had a litany of complaints about everything from the hotel to the plane trip to, well . . . you get the picture. The only things she didn't complain about were the kids and grandkids. The object of the trip was that she would have something to remember and I guess we succeeded there!

Before we left we made reservations to go to a resort for three days in July and I have been feeling a little guilty about spending more money on another holiday this year. I don't want to be frivolous with our money but today on my walk I gave myself a reality check.

This has been a rather sad year for me. It seems that every week or so, I hear about another death. Mother died on march 20, 2009 but even before that, there were several deaths - either at the church or friends or in the family of friends or friends of friends or neighbours. It has continued non stop. Since we were away there has been three deaths of people we know. I know that this is partially because of my age but at times a feeling of sadness just overwhelms me.

Then we decided to have the backyard landscaped. We are having the grass ripped out and walkways and gardens put in. the work was supposed to start on June 1 but it is almost July 1 and the work is nowhere near finished. Barely begun, in fact. If the "boss" could actually get some men here for a day or two, the work might be done by now but there has been one guy working a few hours a day and the work is taking forever, He has also destroyed far more of the established gardens than I thought he should and, at times, I am close to tears about the plants being decimated.

So - - - I think that another holiday is not only desired but needed. As I look back on the past 40 years of our marriage, I realized that there were many years when we took no holidays at all because we simply couldn't afford to. The last time we went to a resort was when the kids were very little. Now that we are able to go away, I am determined not to feel guilty about some rest and relaxation that is sorely needed. If we were to stay home, there would always be something to do and so it's better to actually leave!