Friday, January 2, 2009

The Gift I've Waited All Year For

Well, not all year. But I have waited since August to give myself this particular Christmas gift--TIME. That was my gift to myself this holiday vacation, and it's been wonderful.

As a teacher, I get two weeks off right around Christmas. I am very grateful for this time, as I know many people do not enjoy such a luxurious holiday vacation. (Seriously, vacation time was a big consideration of mine when I became a teacher. May sound silly, but my other option was to be a technical writer--hello, no vacation until I worked my way out of the trenches. No thanks.)

This year it was my husband's family's turn for Christmas, so we headed to Redding last week. After a nice, long visit, we came home this past Sunday. And there we have stayed. There were no day trips, visits to the Bay Area, or anything else of that nature. And it was lovely.

Here were some of the highlights, things I was able to "accomplish", things I never would have been able to do if I was running all over Kingdom Come:

* Wore my pajamas at least until 10 am every day (yesterday I wore them until 3 pm)
* Drank beer and scrap booked with a friend in the afternoon, on a Tuesday
* Played with every toy my daughter got for Christmas (with her, of course)
* Stayed up late reading, playing video games, and watching action movies
* Exercised three hours this week (on target to reach my goal of five hours this week)
* Had actual conversations with my husband (What?! It is a Christmas miracle)

This weekend my vacation comes to a close. I have papers to grade, and a whirl-wind of a work week to look forward to. So far, I have a dentist appointment for Em and one for myself, class on Wednesday night and all day Saturday, and a 130 essays to grade next week.

But I had a wonderful vacation. And I will hold the memories of it close to my heart, no matter how distant they may feel in the next couple months. :)

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