I'm Ready for a Long Vacation

The album Raised on Radio is one of my favorites by the band Journey. I love the song Be Good to Yourself, one of the best on a great album. I'm especially taken with the the last line in the first verse, the one I've chosen for the title of this entry. Why? Well, because it's how I feel right now. I'm ready for a little time out of the sandbox and back in the States.

I get this way toward the end of the school year every year. I start to feel ready for summer, perhaps a bit of senioritis plaguing me much like it does the kids who start checking out in November. On the other hand, I know that there is much that remains to be done so I can't exactly take two months off. Still, fighting the urge to clock out for April and May isn't something that most of use easily dismiss. We all feel that urge, and now that we live overseas the urge to be on a flight home to be with family and friends is all the stronger. I have to confess that I really do enjoy living abroad, and I am invigorated by all the awesome experiences it brings. It has changed my perspective on the world in so many ways, but I really do love the U.S. and am quite thankful to touch American soil every time we go home.

So now I look forward with great anticipation to time home as there's a very real possibility that we will be living in our own house again this year. Inspiration comes from many places and I can't help but feel myself a kindred spirit with Groucho Marx from time to time. His wit oftentimes mirrors my views on life in general, so his comment from Monkey Business seems quite appropriate: "Oh, why can't we break away from all this, just you and I, and lodge with my fleas in the hills? I mean... flee to my lodge in the hills." I'm ready to be in my house, if even for a short time, and enjoying the outdoors that surround it. I love the woods, the wildlife, the yellow jackets that nest along the timbers that border our driveway. OK, maybe not the yellow jackets. I definitely don't love them. In fact, I don't much like them. Nor do I feel warm fuzzies about the hornets that build nests the size of young watermelons on the sides of buildings and in bushes. There was that one time I nearly ran my brand new chainsaw into one of those nests, until I took a closer look at what I was about to cut. Let's just say I was happier not visiting the ER and leave it at that.

I still think it's a good thing for a person to get away from wherever he lives on occasion and go elsewhere. For us, home is in Qatar, but home is also in the U.S. where our best friends are. Home, as in where we live, will probably change several more times. We have no intention of stopping at Qatar. But we will always return to the States to enjoy a taste of home.

Why home? Well the obvious answer would be family and friends. Certainly they are important to us and we will spend the summer all over the place taking in their company. But there are many other things to enjoy. The occasional thunderstorm. Grass. Bathrooms without bidets. The smell of spent gunpowder. My truck. Gasoline that's five times as expensive as it is here -- or not. Actually I'm not looking forward to prices approaching $4/gallon, but I can buy it at Costco and save a few pennies after picking up groceries in industrial sized containers. Mayonnaise by the 55 gallon drum anyone? Maybe a cryo-vac sealed side of beef?

Anyway, I've passed the point where I have days off to look forward to. Those are all behind me for the year. I now have summer in my cross-hairs and I'm prepared to set it in motion. I'll persevere like Robert Frost, with "miles to go before I sleep," but once those miles have passed and I can check out for the summer I promise you that I shall take full advantage of that "sleep" to get the R&R that I'm so looking forward to enjoying. Then in August I will be quite happy to return to Doha, pick up my furry critters and settle back into a routine again, only to start the cycle over again.