Vacation

This week I have the pleasure of being on vacation with my oldest friend and her family on Crystal Lake in Michigan. The setting is beautiful, and as my infrequent blogging would suggest, I've spent precious little time on a computer. Instead, I've been swimming, boating, jetskiing, playing tennis, playing basketball, running, hanging out with all of the kids and catching up on back issues of the New Yorker.

Having grown up together, it is a treat now to be here together with our kids -- and to see the parallels between us as children and our own children. When I saw my daughter walking haughtily toward me with my friend's niece, I knew instinctively that my friend's daughter had been left out - and when I went back to investigate, I found her drying her tears in her mom's lap. I explained to her that the same scenario had played out when we were kids, and it was most often her mom that was left behind with her feelings hurt. What followed was a good discussion of the troubles that three presents, and how we can all learn to either dial it up or dial it back so that we can continue to engage in play. I think I'm still learning how to do that in different situations as an adult.

Leisure time really is a treasure, especially when shared with old friends and our children. If you aren't currently in vacation mode, you can at least listen to the Go-Go's tribute to the getaway:

Vacation
All I ever wanted
Vacation
Had to get away...