Some of you…many of you are going to disagree with everything I’m about to say. I’m alright with that. Here goes. I like to stay busy during vacation. I was just asked whether I’d be interested in going on a cruise next year. I thought about it for about half a second and concluded that it wasn’t for me. Being on a boat for several days just doesn’t sound appealing to me. “But what about the food! You can gorge yourself 24/7.” I enjoy food, but I wouldn’t eat at 3am in the morning so that I could get my money’s worth. “But what about the sun and the lounging!” I grew up on the beach, and I adore driving alongside the beach. I just get bored lounging in a chair on the beach if it’s more than 15 minutes. I truly don’t want to bake myself, and I can’t care about having a tan. “But there are ports where you can get off the boat and explore!” Oh, I like the sound of exploring, but the idea of having a limited amount of time so that the boat doesn’t leave you seems to take the fun out of it. I’d rather visit whatever port it is and explore to my heart’s content. I bet you’re thinking I sound like a barrel of fun right about now. My husband and I did book a cruise a few years ago. I was committed to trying it so that I could change my perspective. A few weeks before we were scheduled to leave, I begged my husband to change our vacation to something more active. The idea of 5 days of lounging was giving me the heebie jeebies. We ended up going to San Francisco and packing every day with activities! I loved it! Did my husband love it? Ummm…I think he did although I’m sure he wouldn’t have minded lounging more. He loves the beach. (Isn’t marriage a riot?) We’re about to celebrate our eleventh anniversary, and we’re taking a trip. A mission trip to Guatemala for a week to build houses and serve in the orphanages. That’s my kind of vacation!! Even now, I took off three days during my daughter’s spring break, and I have enjoyed staying busy. It’s not as though I have a strict itinerary that I follow from sun up to sundown. (I stopped creating vacation itineraries after San Francisco. I’ve learned that they don’t help nurture harmonious relationships on vacation.) But I do want to make sure that my time is used well. I’ve spent time with family, had great conversations, attended volunteer meetings, gone to the library, baked a cake, read a book, etc…I’ve even checked work email. The horrors! Why take vacation if I’m going to do all of this, you might ask? Well, because all of these activities are ones I choose to do. I also have the flexibility of determining when I do them, too, whereas when I’m working, my day is pretty much already structured and there’s less wiggle time. I don’t know how this will impact my daughter in the long run. Some people tell me that she’s not going to know how to rest and relax because I’m always on the move. I don’t know. She is half my child and half my husband’s. He’s much more laid back so she should be fine…right? What’s your ideal vacation?