Anticipation

I've always heard that 90% of the enjoyment found in a vacation is the anticipation. No doubt there is some truth to that. The last school year was difficult and anticipating summer was part of what got me through it with a decent attitude. But there is the actual experience which is so wonderful! I am loving my summer break. I feel so rested and reconnected with my home and family. It's just a joyful time for me.

We are also going to the mountains for a week and yes, I am anticipating a fabulous time! We'll have our older son and his family with us and we are just going to relax! My husband needs it more than I do but it will be good for me to have a change of venue too. But it's more about the uninterrupted time with family than the place, although I love the mountains. My dream home is a good-sized cabin, on a lake in the mountains. I'll never be able to afford it but that would be my ideal and our vacation next week meets all that criteria, except it's on a river rather than a lake.

For me, anticipation is more than just next week's fun. I am a future dweller. I tend to look ahead, make plans, and live in that future moment. I know that means I don't get as much out of the present by doing this mental exercise. In fact, sometimes it robs me of the joy of the now. I've made a concerted effort to live presently this summer and it is great! But now, I find myself reverting to old habits. Summer break is half over so my mind is journeying ahead to school. I have a meeting tomorrow with the principal to try to convince him to simplify the report cards for junior high. They are the same as the elementary and there is just too much stuff on them. Parents are distracted by the periphery grades rather than the overall grade for an individual subject. Making the change in junior high would be another way to prepare students and parents for high school. I'm not convinced he'll agree but I can also change my own categories and get them down to one or two and that will automatically simplify things. Anyway... I'm distracted...

I am also anticipating the month of October as well as Christmas vacation. Yeah... I know, I'm really out there, but for good reason. I have a new grandson cookin' and he'll arrive around the first of October. Plus my husband and I will join our younger son and his family (including the new little boy) in Israel for Christmas! Our daughter-in-law is also an MK and was born and raised in the Middle East. It's really fun to listen to Arabic coming from this blond, blue-eyed, young woman! It certainly takes people by surprise! We have tried to go to Israel with the kids about three or four times before this. Each time, we book our flight with miles, pay the taxes and fees on our credit card, and something then happens to make it impossible (usually over there) and the trip is canceled. My daughter-in-law hasn't been back home for seven or eight years. Her parents still serve in this region and she longs to go home for the holidays. I totally understand and am glad to support her in this. But I would have just as much fun spending Christmas in France with them. The place simply doesn't matter so much. May I be perfectly honest? My husband cannot wait to get to Israel and see all the biblical sites. I could care less... I can't wait to get to Israel to spend a week with my beloved Gracie and meet my new grandson. I would be happy to take short walks around the neighborhood with my little ones, read books, play with dolls and toys, and never see a thing. I'm sure that's blasphemous on some level but now ask me if I care. World travel lost is allure a long time ago. But my children? My grandchildren? I am totally overjoyed each and every time I get to be with them!

So back to the present, I have errands to run and grandchildren coming for dinner. They will see the renovated backyard for the first time and be able to run the trails. It's going to be a wonderful evening!