I'm On Vacation! (I Wish!)

That's right! I wish I was on vacation. I haven't had a vacation for about three years now, and I want one! The challenge is that it is nearly impossible to leave home now that I am the sole caregiver for my elderly mother. When I go anywhere, she goes along, and because this carries a number of risks, we mostly stay home. So, what I try to do is fill my days with new and interesting tasks and educational pursuits. I am fortunate to be self-employed and have a wonderful husband who supports me in all I do. He also helps out as best he can. He brought me chocolate last night, as I was probably showing withdrawal symptoms after running out. Now is he a "Keeper" with a capital K" or what?

But what to do about a vacation? Well, I do have a plan, and that is a vacation at home! I have been styling a home vacation for a while now in my head, and am about ready to launch for later this summer. I am not giving out my secrets yet, but will share as I go on a daily basis. I plan to go on my "staycation," as others are dubbing this growing phenomena, in late July. For one reason or another, there are a lot of us. Either too financially burdened to go anywhere, or for reasons such as my own, people are trying to get more creative about what they are doing, and to explore their own communities more. I have even heard of locals doing the "tourist thing" in their towns. I sure do wish that there was a chocolate factory nearby so I could tour it, or a sourdough bread bakery like San Francisco's Wharf district. Trouble is, I live in an area that grew from banking, university and military based functions. If I went to a bank and said I wanted a tour, they would likely call security; the University would send me to registration and admissions; and the post might consider me with suspicion. Its too hot and humid to explore outdoors until fall, and malls are boring, so I have to put my thinking hat on and do some research. I remember once having a visitor that my husband brought to town on business. We drove that poor man up an down Main Street several times before we gave up on trying to show him what a memorable town we have. We all joked about it and had a few laughs over it, but ever since I have wondered what else we could have done to leave a more exciting impression. So, my challenge for the next few weeks is to put together an interesting and exciting line-up of activities and experiences that will result in a memory as wonderful as all our vacations where we were able to get away and see the world away from home.