Due to the projects at work I am overseeing I have now have cause to think fondly back upon past vacations as I daydream about getting any amount of time off. Vacations are important things, especially when feeling overworked or burdened by responsibility; there can be a wonderful escape in a vacation; a vacation can recharge and rejuvenate; vacations can leave lasting memories. One such vacation stands out so vividly that I often look back upon it to see if the label “idyllic” still applies; I'm happy to say it still does.

The title is a bit misleading (but I like it that way) as I will get some time off for Christmas, but it will be no vacation. But it will, and that's the problem. This year is the first year we will trek down south to spend Christmas with my wife's side of the family. I took two days off (without pay) following the Christmas weekend, and we'll have to drive all day Christmas Eve just to get there, but come Saturday morning one sleepy, squinty-eyed scrooge, and his bubbly, lively, snuggle-everyone-until-they-smile wife will scuttle out of her old bedroom to find what that particular morning will hold for us. I cannot say I am thrilled.

After stitching together my panoramic images (I was delighted to find Olympus provided me with a Mac version of their software on their CD), ordering the album, and fighting with the gallery uploading process, I have our favourite images of the ranch online. The day we took pictures was a beautiful day, despite the haze and dust in the air. Enjoy the pictures.

I wish it were some joke, but this title is nearly true. My wife and I have made it back home safe, but not sound. Oh no, it would have been too good to end our little trip on a positive note. We left for the ranch on Wednesday, as planned, and arrived as planned. We spent time on Thursday riding on some ATVs, sitting on a wonderful porch reading stories, relaxing, and depositing all our food and well being in the toilet come Midnight of Thursday/Friday. Our best guess is we picked something up in one of the doctor's offices, either that or a case of food poisoning. My wife and I are thus far the only ones who got sick (thank goodness), but it was a terrible night; it was the first time either of us were sick enough to vomit, and it happened that both of us took a turn. In fact, my wife took 5 turns before I took my 2 turns. So, we spent Friday (yesterday) sleeping, resting, and trying to break our fevers (we were both over 100 degrees Fahrenheit), then we left today, feeling better but not well, and we arrived home.

It does not end there, for on the way home my brother called me to inform me of a suicide in the [extended] family. Terrible! Not only did we attend a funeral on our "vacation" but we now have another one to attend soon. It seems death is following (or preceding) me (that and pestilence).

In the end, I have been happy to return home, to the land of broadband wireless Internet (I did not realize how much I missed it). We still have more recovering to do, my brother leaves all too soon for school in Hawaii of all places, I have extra bills I need to pay, so I will need extra work. . . . Life goes on, one day at a time. And now I must be off to bed to recover (or else).

It seems we are being conditioned, like Pavlov's dogs, to avoid vacations. The statistics are thus far against us; whenever we go on an official vacation Something Bad (TM) happens, oft times requiring a doctor. There was the poison oak on our first anniversary, the general nausea of our honeymoon, again a queazy stomach last Valentine's day, and now another bout of something resembling poison oak (though we think it isn't). My wife is suffering another outbreak, mysteriously identical to the first on our anniversary (so similar it is even located in the same spot and spreading in the same fashion). So our morning was spent consulting with two doctors (a general doctor and a dermatologist) and picking up more prescriptions to do battle with That Which Would Ruin Our Vacation (TM).

All is not bad however. We are packing to head up to the family ranch, a three hour trek north. We had hoped to leave earlier, but the doctors forestalled us a couple of hours. That might turn out to be a blessing as we may extend our stay another day and spend even more time at the ranch. It is beautiful country, and I hope to get many pictures, so another day would be great. Thus far the vacation has been relaxing, and even productive. I can only hope it will continue, and we'll be well rested to return to our jobs when we return home.

The number of funerals I have attended lately is a little frightening. To my recollection I did not attend a funeral until I became a pastoral intern some four or five years ago, and ever since then I've had a trickle of funerals to attend. I suppose I would not have to go to so many funerals if I did not know so many people, or if my wife did not have many friends; the sad fact of life is, the more people you know and befriend the more funerals you will probably have to attend.

This funeral was a touching one. It was obviously difficult for some, and yet, it could be seen as a relief, for the poor man had suffered for years with various and assorted health issues. It was mentioned at the funeral he had "cheated" death a number of times, which might have caused some alarm when this time he did not. It was heartwarming to see the funeral home was packed to standing room only, and even the family section was quite full. It is a good thing to have many people show up for a funeral, to remember the deceased, and to support the grieving family. There were great touching moments, that even had me choked up a bit, and I only knew the youngest daughter of the man.

It was a long journey, but we made it safe and sound, attended the funeral, managed to get naps, and have even spent some time relaxing. The trip was not uneventful, the funeral was normal, but still compelling, and our time relaxing involved the Olympics, something I have not taken the time to follow (and which I did not give my undivided attention as I was busy spending more time arranging things on my laptop).