Summer Vacations

So here we are stepping our way into summer with the official beginning of summer (according to some forecasters and possible meteorologists) being tomorrow.

This is a bit formal as most see the official start of summer when school ends for the year or when the weather gets too hot.

We have had some crazy weather so far in 2013.

We had a mild winter and so far a few hot 90+ temperature days. What we have had, which is not “normal” is RAIN…and a lot of it.

It seems to have rained every night for the last five nights, and all of the weather forecasts as of this writing say Georgians are in for more. I like rain. Especially if it’s during the late hours when I get my best sleep.

I also know that it wasn’t all that long ago that we were worried about a drought, and that there was no relief in sight, so I suppose we are making up for that now.

I went to one of my get away’s, Wise Creek, last weekend and realized that the water is up past its normal depth and I couldn’t see the rapids, rocks, and there was no sand bar to set my chair on as it was completely covered with water, so I was on to find a pool to relax by.

Speaking of relaxing…I suppose that summers are made for just that.

Many of us take vacations to warmer climates, some take a week at the beach, others get away from the warm weather and venture up into the mountains. Others tend to have more of a “staycation” where they are off of work but stay at home, do things locally and catch up on much needed rest and chores.

Wherever you choose to go or whatever you choose to do, the purpose is to relax. Most people end up going, going, going and don’t get a chance to relax. The average person needs a vacation from their vacation.

I work a lot of hours during the average week, as I have two jobs.

I did manage to get time off from both jobs to go on a cruise and cruise I did.

I had originally taken off five days from the News and didn’t take any days off at the bar, as I thought that we docked on Friday and I would work that night.

What I didn’t know was that I was going to have some extra time off, and not get to relax at all.

It was unfortunate, but the week before my cruise, my G-Mom that lives in Maryland died. She was 85 and we had been up in April when she was in the hospital. My G-Mom is actually Jimmy’s (my stepfather’s) mom. She was as close to me as she was to any other of her grandchildren, and with her I never once felt like I wasn’t family. This was a sad experience all around but the distance of my G-Mom was stressful.

I worked on Monday and Tuesday of the week that she died, and then my sister Emily and I left at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning and drove to Maryland.

The trip up took 11 hours and we walked into my Uncle Ray’s and Aunt Heidi’s house, immediately showered and were at visitation in less than an hour.

Visitation was emotional, as they always are and then when it was over, we were starving.

Emily and I went to get seafood at the only open restaurant in Deale, the Happy Harbour.

We ate and drank and bonded with some friends of my Stepdaddy’s while there and then headed back to Aunt Heidi’s and Uncle Ray’s for some family time.

We sat up and played cards for a while and talked about the family and friends we’d seen. It was great..but it was quick.

The next morning we were up and showered again, and went to the funeral service for my G-Mom and then to the firehouse where we got to enjoy a meal. Then we packed in my car for the 10+ hour trip home.

Emily and I made it home with enough time to sleep a few hours and I worked here at the News for a few hours on Friday, and then went to Milner for a wedding rehearsal for my best friend Lauren. After the rehearsal and dinner, I went back home and slept for another few hours and got up to get ready for the wedding.

The Saturday wedding festivities were abuzz and the actual event was beautiful. I ended up staying out waaay too late after and got home around 3 a.m. and preceded to pack for my cruise on Monday.

I woke up to a message saying that the crew was leaving for Jacksonville where the cruise shipped out of at 11 a.m. Sunday. We drove the fiveish hours Sunday and enjoyed several activities in Jacksonville Sunday night.

Monday around 1 p.m. we were on the boat..and relax was the only work in my vocabulary. I was ready to get away and enjoy good times with good friends.

Fun was had, but relaxing was not…but that’s for another week.