Kintropy In Action

I am nearing my 13-day holiday vacation.  I look forward to this time every year.  It holds so much promise:  downtime, sleep, family outings, more downtime, more sleep.  But, as usual, there are already signs of a vacation-opolypse on the horizon, including:

• The School Calendar:  What!  Gabriel's last day at school is this Friday?  He and I share the same vacation schedule?  He'll be home the entire time, constantly begging me to play his version of two player (him playing, me watching) on all his video games?
• Drip, drip, drip goes Hannah's nose.  We've avoided any major illnesses so far this season, and we just had an abdominal ultrasound to verify no unexpected cysts or abcesses are growing.  But her nose just started the drip.  And her heartbeat, while she is asleep, is climbing to her I-don't-feel-well heartrate.  Sigh.
• Schedules are afoot.  Janette tried to schedule something on my first day off.  I don't remember what it was.  I just gave her the Evil Eye.
• Max pass on the mind:  I'm thinking of buying a light rail pass to cover the vacation time.  That means, deep inside me, I am planning way to avoid using my new typewriter, avoid writing, by planning family outings.  Self-generated distraction.
• Fairness dictates that this is Janette's vacation as well.  She needs downtime, sleep, etc..  Not really a complaint, but an important consideration.

So I go into my vacation with high hopes, but a sense that the vacation is a mountain vista seen from the road.  I'll drive toward it, never seeming to gain on it.  Suddenly, I'll be there, driving up the mountain to the kids' mantra, "Are we there yet?"  We'll reach the summit together, look around, and then climb down the mountain all too soon.

-- Dad