A little about my hectic life... and my revelation.

I was talking with a guy at work recently who was saying that this year's vacation was going to be a "Staycation" (the ever popular new term for "Gas is too much so we are staying home."). He said his parents were coming and while last year they had all gone up to a nearby tourist city for vacation, he "much more prefers to sit around the living room catching up with family." After a lengthy argument with my own husband about how he could expect me to impose on out of state friends by sitting in their house for four days, it took this conversation with a coworker to bring me to my senses! My epiphany: Normal people like to just sit around and talk on their days off! I had never in a million years thought that I was the "oddball!" For instance, my husband also told me that his boss had never even taken his kids to the museum or the zoo! Is that even possible? I can't imagine a world without seeing dinosaurs and IMAX theaters. In an era where neighborhoods no longer have expansive forests to explore and predators seem to be everywhere, what do "normal" kids do to kill time or fulfill their curiosities? Or with childhood obesity on the rise, what do normal kids do for exercise for that matter? You can't just let your kids run free anymore while adults sit at home and "Chat" like the good ol' days, but alas, I have concluded I am abnormal because I over plan.

Take this weekend for instance: We went to see Batman Friday night. I also had planned a rock climbing session with my family on Saturday morning. I then thought "Why not go paddle-boating on the lake?" after rock climbing, but my husband gave me that look like "You can't be serious. We just spent three hours dangling from a rope? When do you rest?" I know that look well, so I gave in and we went home. We then went out to the store later until about 9:00 PM, and topped off the evening with a "movie night" for my daughter and myself at home. The next day my sister and I planned a hiking trip to view the wild flowers with our two families, but changed the location to be a bit closer to home after I got the aforementioned look from my husband yet again. We had a blast (well, I had a blast and I am pretty sure my sister and niece did too), but the entire time my husband and daughter kept saying "What's the point? Where are we going? Blah, blah, blah..." This is when I discovered that my husband's family didn't really hike when he was growing up. He told me that where he is from (New Mexico) it is too hot to leave the house, so people stay inside. So this got me thinking again... "Is this how normal people are?"

See, here's the thing: Why is it these people want to sit around talking on our vacations when these same people so carefully avoid talking to one another the rest of the year? Isn't that the reason e-mail and blogs were invented, and isn't that why I am on this blog, talking to myself? To avoid bugging the people I love so much? So called "normal" people don't want to hear other people talk. Isn't that why they turn the television up when someone talks too loud? See what I mean? So what I really think people are saying when they say they want to "catch up" is that they want to gather around the television. To me, the idea of sitting around the living room for three days talking with family and doing nothing else sounds painful.

Don't get me wrong...I love my family and love hearing about people's lives -it's what I do; yet, take my father and his wife for example (and keep in mind I chose them for this example because, next to my sis, they are my favorite relatives)... I adore them and we have the best time visiting with them, but say they came to visit and we just sat around shooting the breeze all week. At some point wouldn't we run out of things to say and just sit there staring at one another? Wouldn't we eventually come down with cabin fever, which is where things generally take a turn for the worse? I mean, after all, I saw The Shining. Which one of us would be Jack Nicholson's character after three days of "Chatting" with one another? This brings up another topic: My husband and his parents want to drive in his small SUV with the five of us for seven hours one way (14 total) in the hot sun. I like them, but I am not sure it's a good idea to keep family shoved together for long periods without leg room. I think that is like forcing the odds or something. I may drive them nuts with my incessant chatter and they may insist my husband find a wife who can remain calm for long periods of time.

Is it really me though? Am I the abnormal one for not wanting to waste my life away indoors? Maybe I should appreciate this willingness to spend time with family without distractions. Maybe it depends on where you are from? Could this whole "sit around and enjoy one another" thing be a regional thing and the Rocky Mountains are the gateway to down to earth, laid-back, "who needs to see the world when we have each other" living? Maybe it's the city girl in me that has a sense of urgency to see the whole world and has this constant twinge of disappointment knowing it is not possible for me to see every last inch of the world before I am too old to travel. So, in the mean time, I have decided that a consciousness of the vast difference between my husband (and the rest of the world) and myself will at least aid me in trying not to plan too much in a day. Apparently moderation is the key! - Although I cannot make any guarantees to slow down, I will at least try not drag everyone down with me!