Vacation Mode...

In about 24 hours I'll be on a plane headed to California for a couple of weeks of much needed vacation. The last time I took more than a 3 day weekend was back at Thanksgiving...so I'm ready for a little time off to recharge.

The problem is that while you're supposed to rest, relax, and re-charge on vacation...the majority of us do just the opposite. Oh sure we may sleep an hour or two later in the morning...but we also tend to stay up a couple of hours later too! And of course we try to cram as much fun as we can muster into every hour of the day...which in the end means we come back to work just as tired as when we left...and in some cases, a little worse off than before we left!

I think it's because as Americans we don't know how to vacation. The Europeans do it SO much better than we do. First off, they call their time off "holiday." As in, "Oh we'll be going to the South of France on holiday this August."

The second reason they do vacations better than us is because they take an entire month off...usually August. Here in the States we're lucky if we take a full week off at one time, let alone an entire month.

This vacation is the longest one I've taken in over 15 years. When I first joined the United States Air Force I took a full 30 days leave to come back home from my assignment in Spain. Since then...no more than 5 days at a time.

Maybe it's our work ethic, maybe we're scared the boss will realize they can do the job without us and we'll come home and find we 're now on an unplanned, extended vacation! Who knows...but I think we'd have less stress at work, fewer sick days, and be more productive if we all took a full two weeks of vacation each year...and that means really taking some down time for ourselves.

But honestly...I probably won't practice what I'm preaching! We've already got tickets for Disneyland, plans to see the Sacramento River Cats play a baseball game, tickets for a Boz Scaggs concert, a quick trip to San Francisco, and even a wedding to attend!



It sounds like a full slate, huh? Then I hope you'll excuse me for keeping this short...I think I better go get a nap!