A Weekend Away

Things have been crazy hectic this semester, as I’ve noted on here multiple times (to the point that most of you, I imagine, are getting sick of it). So it was very nice to reach Indigenous People’s Weekend, where the kids had Friday and Monday off, and the university gives us Monday (and I don’t have to teach today!)

Looking at the semester ahead of us, Denisa and I decided back when this all began that it would be a good idea to head somewhere else for the weekend. As is usually the case with me, by the time the appointed date came around, I was seriously beginning to question why in the world I’d decided to do this in the first place. I was stressed, I had a ton of things to do, and we were just driving 1.5 hours away to go be in a house that wouldn’t be that much different from the house we live in every day. Sure, it was on a pond, but I can drive to a pond any time I want. Why in the world had I thought it was a good idea to spend a bunch of money, just to give myself something else I had to do?

But the nice thing about spending all that money ahead of time is that it forces me to actually go through with things. So we packed up and headed out. I was in much less than a good mood.

However, as is also usually the case, by the time I reached the end of the vacation, I was very glad we had gone. Yes, technically it was about like being at home, but there’s something to be said for not being at home. When you’re at home, there are a bunch of little things you know you need to be doing. They’re always there, nagging at the back of my mind. Going somewhere else makes them all go quiet. We could just relax and spend time together as family without worrying about pretty much anything.

Did we do anything stellar? Not really. We paddled around in kayaks, went swimming (yes, in cold water), watched movies, ate good food, played board games, and generally lazed around. We did go to a rather epic corn hole tournament a friend hosted on Saturday, but other than that it was just taking a nice breather.

And that’s the thing about breathers: yes, breathing is something you do all the time anyway. Do you really need to take some time to just keep breathing? Well, when you’ve been running at a full sprint for far too long, yes. Yes, you do. Taking that time to catch your mental breath can be incredibly refreshing. I felt much better heading home than I had heading down.

Now if only our cabinets would come. The current “delivery date” is tomorrow. I’m crossing my fingers, toes, and eyes . . .

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