I’m on vacation…only it’s not the same kind of vacation most people think of. There’s no Club Med, no airline tickets, no cruise ship and I don’t even have to stop the newspaper from being delivered or board the dog. I’m giving myself permission not to do what I would normally be doing. And that, by my meager definition, is a vacation.

I realized today that our tribe didn’t take a “true” vacation this year. The only traveling we did as a family was a trek to Missouri for the ATN conference in August and some visiting with my family while there. It’s been a long, hard year for sure.

This vacation I’m on consists of ignoring what’s going on around me. I recognized that I was on vacation starting Christmas Day, when all the shopping and wrapping and stress over preparing for the holiday, coupled with the daily stress of having LuLu to care for 24/7 was relieved. LuLu slept most of Christmas Day. While other mothers (who are probably more conscientious than I am these days) would be worried about this, I was thrilled to have the peace and quiet. Yesterday, Super Dad took LuLu to run errands, while I did the after-Christmas sale shopping with Kay – definitely a change of pace. This morning, LuLu awoke early, but went back to bed and has given me several hours of peace and quiet (vacation still) to blog away.

Yes, I realize it is abnormal for an 11-year-old to sleep so much. But I attribute it to a number of things. She was sleepless for several days leading up to Christmas (excitement) and her body is fighting this h pylori and who knows what else. Plus the rest of us have had sniffles that she seems to have as well.

Anyway, while other parents would be looking to wake their children and engage them…I’m letting sleeping dogs lie. Ok, Super Dad has rustled her and is now insisting that she help him rake in the back yard. I have no interest in entering that wrestling match, so I just shut the office door!

Truth is, this is the only vacation we can afford. Yes, I’d love to be off somewhere with my sweetie, just relaxing. But giving myself permission not to “accomplish” something where LuLu is concerned for a few days (be it school or therapy, or just trying to meaningfully engage her) is enough.

As for Super Dad, he actually took the remainder of his vacation days to stay home this week. Total lack of money means that he’s puttering around the house, fixing and cleaning things he rarely has time to because of his weekly travels. He acts like he’s enjoying it, but he’s frustrated that the kids aren’t jumping in to help out. He hasn’t yet learned the importance of taking a vacation by ignoring them!

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