Living the Good Life

As some of you may recall, Bryan, the contractor working on my kitchen renovation, was on his way over one afternoon in early April, but never made it here. I called the hospitals. I checked the morgue. To my relief, I did not find him there. I phoned a friend. He said Bryan had hopped a plane to California, for a week’s vacation. We can all use a little spontaneous R&R every now and again. I wasn’t mad, but I was a little jealous. I patiently waited for his week to pass.

Bryan never did returned to finish the job. He never came by to pick up the tools he left in my backyard. He never answered his cell phone. (I probably wasn’t the only client calling.) While I was a tad concerned about Bryan’s whereabouts, I was more concerned that I was stranded with a non-functional kitchen.

I quickly realized kitchen contractors are pretty busy in April. Seems a lot of folks use their tax return checks on home updates. Who knew? Luckily, I found Chris – on a tip from a bartender. (What can I say, I was getting a bit desperate after 6 weeks with no running water.) The kitchen was completed and Chris moved on, but the pile of Bryan's tools remained in my backyard – a constant reminder of the great disappearing contractor.

Last week, I found out that Bryan is indeed alive, and living in California. Seems his plane did not go down on his return flight. He never actually boarded a return flight. I’m glad he’s not in jail (as my brother speculated) or laying in a gutter somewhere. He’s simply enjoying the sun, sand and surf on the west coast. Oh, to be young again.

I’ve since given away Bryan’s tools and moved on to the next home improvement project, but every now and again when I walk into my kitchen, I picture surfer boy Bryan living the good life in LA.

The Measure of a Good Family Vacation

A friend just returned from the Outer Banks. A week full of sand, sun, an 8 month old and logging into work every day to keep up with the e-mails. I told him next time, he needs to pick a location without a wireless connection. And follow my golden rule: no vacations involving sand when you have a child under 1 year. I understand he already learned that painful lesson.

My brother just got back from a week in OC – a week with his in-laws and four children, ages 7 to 13 (which includes twin pre-teen girls, God bless their souls). Does that actually count as a vacation?

My other brother and his wife took their newborn and toddler on a road trip to Canada. A 10 hour trek they drove at night so, maybe, the kids would sleep. It took 2 days to recover from “the drive from hell.” Before they knew it, they were faced with the drive back.

What is the measure of a good family vacation? It's different for everyone. For me, it’s always “Did I get to read a book? From cover to cover?” In the interest of full disclosure – my “vacation book” is always a trashy novel. Vacation is a time for escape, so no catching up on reading for my Six Sigma course or grabbing the latest Obama – Time For a Change critique. No siree, not for me!

I took an informal poll of friends and family. Here are some of the answers I received to my “a good family vacation is” inquiry:
* if no one throws up
* if the children sleep on the car ride (to or from)
* if I can get out to golf at least once
* happy hour everyday at 3:00
* if the kids take a nap
* finding time for “vacation sex” (see previous entry)
* if no one gets sunburned
* making it home with my sanity
* no trips to the emergency room for broken bones or stitches
* if we can manage to spend less than 3 months of mortgage payments
* not gaining weight (has never happened, yet)

Recognize any of these? Perhaps you have others - I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me an e-mail or post a response. I hope you have a good family vacation this summer – whatever that might mean for you.