R & R

Yesterday at work, I gave a major presentation that I’ve been working towards for several months. That done and off my plate, it is now supposed to be wind-down time, because next week we are on vacation. However, going on vacation is not turning out to be as relaxing as I’d thought. For the past several days I have been making daily trips across town to stock up on diapers and cat food and bug spray (except that kids under 2 aren’t supposed to wear bug spray, so that’s turned into a hunt for some Avon Skin-So-Soft instead). It’s been a matter of stocking up on some treats and then trying to keep various members of the house (myself included) from dipping into them before we are even officially on vacation. It’s about making lists and checking them twice, and a family room that is currently overflowing with coolers and life jackets and blow-up mattresses. Ah yes, the Great Canadian Summer Vacation.

Then there is the matter of Chad. For 50 weeks of the year, Chad is just about the most laid back person you’ll ever meet. Normally when we are planning a road trip, I’m the one trying to nail down the time we’ll be out the door, and he’s the one saying he doesn’t want to commit to anything and why can’t we just get there when we get there. When vacations are involved it’s a different story. Chad is the one who was already awake and buzzed up on Cherry Coke at 6 a.m. each day we were at Disney to make sure we were at the parks before they opened; Chad is the one who insisted we take the extra half hour hike around the crater rim of Kilimanjaro despite the fact that he was puking and delirious at the time; and it seems that this vacation will be no different, because last night I found an Excel spreadsheet on the kitchen counter that gives a complete and total breakdown of our first day of vacation. According to it, we are to be out the door at 7:15 a.m., turning onto the 400 at 10:32 a.m., and stopping for lunch at Weber’s between 11:57 a.m. and 12:58 p.m. I am only surprised that he did not write out what our order will be to hasten the process.

(Liam seemed pretty taken with the Drumstick sign at Storybook Gardens. If he turns out anything like Chad, I'm sure it will be a lifelong love affair. (With the drumsticks. Not just the sign.))