Oct 9th, 2022 Sunday Sunny
I am about to go on a vacation in Sydney.
Everyone who hears about this news all seems to be very excited, maybe more excited than I appear to be. “Aren’t you excited?” they ask. “What are you most excited about?”
Well, to be honest, it is NOT that I am not excited at all. I AM – after all, I have never been to Australia, and Sydney is certainly worth a visit for its well-known landmarks, multicultural food scenes, the sunshine and the beach.
Perhaps I do not show my excitement as much, because what I am looking forward to most, is to relax, to have a whole week’s time free from the stress of work, house chores, and even most interpersonal relationships since nobody knows me in a country half a planet away.
The meaning of vacation may be different for full-time working adults and students, or so I wonder.
When I was a student, I associated the word “vacation” with adventure and energy. Vacation is the opportunity to go explore a completely different part of the world – trying something new, learning about other cultures, and seeing the sites that one only heard or read about before in textbooks. I would make very detailed travel itinerary to maximize the efficiency of every twenty-four hours, so the price I paid on the flight and the hotel was well-spent.
Of course, I would be a little tired after those vacation trips, but who cares? I could just be a couch cat for a couple of days to recover. Since most vacations during my school years had to take place during winter break or summer break, it was not a big deal – I had plenty of time to recharge before school would start again.
That model of vacationing no longer works once I have a full-time job. While my regular job is filled with busy schedules on most days, I long for a few days without any alert, reminders, or constantly checking the time. I do not want my vacation to be another to-do list. Instead, I hope to enjoy a period of time with interesting activities to engage my mind and body, with no pressure to “get it done”.
Moreover, because having a home of one’s own entails endless housework, I long for some time when I do not have to keep thinking about dinner plans, arranging grocery shopping trips, taking care of our kitty, etc. Do not get me wrong – generally speaking I love cooking, and grocery shopping can be fun, and I am so grateful to have a sweet kitty to take care of, but when these tasks show up EVERY DAY of the year, sometimes I need a break.
I guess that is where the word “vacation” first derived its meaning: it shares the root with “vacate”, to leave a certain place, physically or mentally. To be away, and to pause the groove that one has gotten used to day in and day out, and to step out of one’s world for a while.
It is not as simple as “escaping”. Escaping is passive, but vacationing should not be. I usually use my vacation time to reflect, to slow down and appreciate, and to get ready for the next journey fully recharged.
Definitely, the meaning of vacation to our kitty Lyn is not the same. Maybe for her, climbing onto daddy’s warm lap (or belly) and dreaming of crunchy meatballs is a good enough vacation that she lives through each day ?