The Perfect Day
Let me start off first by stating that I had no idea the controversy I was going to ignite with my previous post. Those of you who know me well know how much I abhor conflict, and I read with disbelief this evening the drama that had unfolded during the day. I guess that's one more practical joke gone bad I can add to my list. I momentarily thought this evening I would activate the command that does not allow anonymous comments (just for a day, of course, to be funny) but I have decided not to press my luck. Besides, I can take whatever anonymous dishes out...I know where she lives. While I know all has been addressed through the comments mode, I would like to acknowledge my appreciation to those who thought I had really been admonished by a stranger, and it did feel quite good to know you fellow bloggers "have my back." I am going to return tonight to the normal, albeit lengthy post that normally appears on my blog.
One day. I am down to one summer vacation day. I unofficially have to work all day tomorrow and Thursday, and I officially return to work on Monday, so Friday is my last hurrah. How will I spend that day? Will I sleep late, knowing that come Monday, the alarm clock goes off at 6:15? Will I spend the day in my pajamas, knowing come Monday, I am trading shorts and flip flops for dress pants and matching shirts? Will I fervently work around the house in a last ditch attempt to tackle projects that I had all summer to complete? Will I make it a fun day with my kids, planning one last big outing before we all head to school? I probably won't be able to answer these questions until Thursday night, but the thoughts of how I will spend that day led me to a relevant question - what is the perfect day? What if Jason, on Thursday night, said, "Deb, tomorrow is your day. Resources are not an issue. You can do whatever you want, spend whatever you want, go wherever you want, invite whomever you want, for the next 24 hours." Wow, what would I do? Assuming the time frame is from midnight Friday morning to 11:59 p.m. Friday evening, the first question is, how much would I sleep? Would I take full advantage of the 24 hours and choose not to waste a minute on sleep? Or would I decide to take advantage of an opportunity to sleep as late as I want, even if that meant until noon? The second question is, how much time to I spend on travel? I've never been to Hawaii, and I would love to visit, but do I want to waste 16 of my precious hours in an airplane? (I assume I have to be back home by 11:59, otherwise Jason won't let me do this again.) The third question is, with whom do I spend the day? I'm trying to keep a fair mind with this one - after a weekend of camping and a full day at Kokomo Beach, I've had my share of family bonding time, and a day without kids sounds great this evening. But if I am planning the perfect day, shouldn't it include the three most important people in my life? I pondered these thoughts as we sat by our firepit (we finished up our Manwich leftovers from this weekend and had Manwich Pies, just can't get enough of camping food I guess,) and what I came up with probably shows what a simple person I am. I am not adventurous, so I am not leaving the country. I am not cultured, so I am not heading to the big cities. I am not a dreamer, so I am going to do something that is actually possible. Here is my perfect day iteniary:
6:00 - Get up, and with camper already packed, the family piles in the car and takes off, pulling the camper.
8:00 - We stop for breakfast at Bob Evans, my favorite breakfast place, and I order a ham and cheese omelet and hot chocolate with whipped cream (did you know it's free refills?)
9:00 - We pull into Kings Island right at opening time, grab our map, and plan our strategy.
10:00 - The rides open, and starting slow, we are first in line at the Baby Beast (oops, forgot to mention that people are meeting us down there - our entire Sunday School class and both sets of grandparents and siblings/families; this is when my dad takes Anna on the Scrambler since she doesn't meet the height requirement)
10:00-5:00 - We ride rides till we can ride no more. Amazingly the crowds are down on this day, so the wait is no more than 5-10 minutes per ride. The wait has to be a little bit on the Beast, though, to build suspense. That's half the fun.
5:00 - 9:00 - I'm going shopping with whoever from the group wants to go - Cincinatti has to have a big mall. Oh, the kids aren't going, and Jason doesn't want to go - they are going to stay until close at Kings Island and enjoy more rides. Don't worry, the grandparents are going to stay, too, to ride rides with Anna while Jason takes Elizabeth on the "big" rides. I am going to get some school clothes for all three of us, and I may even go out on a limb and get Jason a few things, too. I love to shop for clothes, especially for the kids.
9:00 - We leave the mall, it closes at 9:00.
10:00 - We're at the Kings Island Campground. The whole group is camping there, Jason has our camper all set up, the kids have been bathed and are in their beds watching a video (I would say asleep, but I want to kiss them tonight,) a campfire is going, and we are going to have pies.
10:00 - 11:59 - We sit around the fire, laughing, eating, well, doing what we do around the campfire. Since Jason and the kids are with me, I don't have to be home at midnight.
There you have it. Maybe not very imaginative. Maybe not too ambitious. But for me, perfect.
Triathlon Training Update - Strength day today, which since I missed the Y again, looks like situps and pushups. Hope Shelli doesn't think I'm a slacker when she reads this, but for me, strength day is almost as good as rest day.
One day. I am down to one summer vacation day. I unofficially have to work all day tomorrow and Thursday, and I officially return to work on Monday, so Friday is my last hurrah. How will I spend that day? Will I sleep late, knowing that come Monday, the alarm clock goes off at 6:15? Will I spend the day in my pajamas, knowing come Monday, I am trading shorts and flip flops for dress pants and matching shirts? Will I fervently work around the house in a last ditch attempt to tackle projects that I had all summer to complete? Will I make it a fun day with my kids, planning one last big outing before we all head to school? I probably won't be able to answer these questions until Thursday night, but the thoughts of how I will spend that day led me to a relevant question - what is the perfect day? What if Jason, on Thursday night, said, "Deb, tomorrow is your day. Resources are not an issue. You can do whatever you want, spend whatever you want, go wherever you want, invite whomever you want, for the next 24 hours." Wow, what would I do? Assuming the time frame is from midnight Friday morning to 11:59 p.m. Friday evening, the first question is, how much would I sleep? Would I take full advantage of the 24 hours and choose not to waste a minute on sleep? Or would I decide to take advantage of an opportunity to sleep as late as I want, even if that meant until noon? The second question is, how much time to I spend on travel? I've never been to Hawaii, and I would love to visit, but do I want to waste 16 of my precious hours in an airplane? (I assume I have to be back home by 11:59, otherwise Jason won't let me do this again.) The third question is, with whom do I spend the day? I'm trying to keep a fair mind with this one - after a weekend of camping and a full day at Kokomo Beach, I've had my share of family bonding time, and a day without kids sounds great this evening. But if I am planning the perfect day, shouldn't it include the three most important people in my life? I pondered these thoughts as we sat by our firepit (we finished up our Manwich leftovers from this weekend and had Manwich Pies, just can't get enough of camping food I guess,) and what I came up with probably shows what a simple person I am. I am not adventurous, so I am not leaving the country. I am not cultured, so I am not heading to the big cities. I am not a dreamer, so I am going to do something that is actually possible. Here is my perfect day iteniary:
6:00 - Get up, and with camper already packed, the family piles in the car and takes off, pulling the camper.
8:00 - We stop for breakfast at Bob Evans, my favorite breakfast place, and I order a ham and cheese omelet and hot chocolate with whipped cream (did you know it's free refills?)
9:00 - We pull into Kings Island right at opening time, grab our map, and plan our strategy.
10:00 - The rides open, and starting slow, we are first in line at the Baby Beast (oops, forgot to mention that people are meeting us down there - our entire Sunday School class and both sets of grandparents and siblings/families; this is when my dad takes Anna on the Scrambler since she doesn't meet the height requirement)
10:00-5:00 - We ride rides till we can ride no more. Amazingly the crowds are down on this day, so the wait is no more than 5-10 minutes per ride. The wait has to be a little bit on the Beast, though, to build suspense. That's half the fun.
5:00 - 9:00 - I'm going shopping with whoever from the group wants to go - Cincinatti has to have a big mall. Oh, the kids aren't going, and Jason doesn't want to go - they are going to stay until close at Kings Island and enjoy more rides. Don't worry, the grandparents are going to stay, too, to ride rides with Anna while Jason takes Elizabeth on the "big" rides. I am going to get some school clothes for all three of us, and I may even go out on a limb and get Jason a few things, too. I love to shop for clothes, especially for the kids.
9:00 - We leave the mall, it closes at 9:00.
10:00 - We're at the Kings Island Campground. The whole group is camping there, Jason has our camper all set up, the kids have been bathed and are in their beds watching a video (I would say asleep, but I want to kiss them tonight,) a campfire is going, and we are going to have pies.
10:00 - 11:59 - We sit around the fire, laughing, eating, well, doing what we do around the campfire. Since Jason and the kids are with me, I don't have to be home at midnight.
There you have it. Maybe not very imaginative. Maybe not too ambitious. But for me, perfect.
Triathlon Training Update - Strength day today, which since I missed the Y again, looks like situps and pushups. Hope Shelli doesn't think I'm a slacker when she reads this, but for me, strength day is almost as good as rest day.
posted by Deb at 9:41 PM
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11 Comments:
See, Deb, when it comes down to it, you need so little to be content - family, friends, fun, and food (count me in on the pies over the fire). The perfect day concept is something for me to think about...at least Jason could read this post and make your perfect day happen pretty easily. :)
Block the anonymous comments, ha. I just want you to know that my feelings would be really hurt, Deb and I'd probably never leave another comment even when the block was off....you may want to remember that for future use. It's been a lot of fun visiting for this week, but Monday, it'll all be over and fellow readers of your blog will be glad to see me go. My idea of a perfect day.....hmmmm, actually having a day to create a blog. I guess I'll never be as cool as you. :)
btw, i was shocked to hear that your perfect day involved a campfire......gee, i would've never guessed.
Hey Miss Anonymous: Did you know that you don't have to actually create a blog to still leave comments? I have had several friends who "signed up" for a blog just so they could post on my (ond others', I'm sure) blog...Joel did this. You could do it too - don't even have to use your name if you like the anonymity. I like hearing from you in blog world; don't go away. :)
That does sound like a pretty great day Deb! I think I will join you!
Oh, sure, now you like me in the blog world after you slam my heartfelt comments and write an entire article on blog etiquette. No way am I getting my own blog at this time in my life because I would just receive death threats from everyone that knows you guys. Bloggers are so protective.
On a serious note, I apologize to all of Deb's and Jaena's fellow bloggers whom I've offended. I really am suffering from being left out of all the good blogging conversations in social circles. And a big thanks to Joel for helping me realize that I am wrong for just stepping in on places I'm not invited. (Don't worry, I'm leaving next week for the most part.)
I cannot identify myself because this is just my secret way of getting vengeance on everyone else in the world. :) And honestly Jaena, if you keep using that tone of voice with me, you're going to be hiring a new cook. :)
OK, I am LOL now...and BTW, I had thought about writing a post on blog etiquette before you ever showed up, so don't give yourself too much credit Miss Anon. :)
Now, what must I do to ensure you will be our cook now and forevermore? We love you as well as your culinary abilities!
(See, if you had your own blog, we could "talk" there and wouldn't have to have an ongoing conversation on Deb's blog. At least she is getting more comments.)
Dear Anonymous
FYI- If you were serious about wanting to create a blog you could do it in much less time than a day. I believe it took me (with the help of a good friend named Kelley)less then half an hour.
Missy
Dear Anonymous
FYI- If you were serious about wanting to create a blog you could do it in much less time than a day. I believe it took me (with the help of a good friend named Kelley)less then half an hour.
Missy
Jaena,
I'm just waiting on you to lift that little anon blocker off and I'm so there.
Will she do it or will it go against her blogging etiquette rules?
The suspense is killing me.
Deb,
I haven't commented yet today because I've been trying to think about what I would classify as my perfect day. I've decided that there are many perfect days and they're all different. Some of my favorites are: laying on a raft, talking to my best friend and then ending the day by beating her 2 out of 3 games in Horse. (Sorry Sue, had to throw that in there :)) Any time I host a Sunday School Ladies night is a good day for me. I love to fellowship with my favorite ladies. Special family get togethers. I remember one 4th of July we went to Jason's and all went up to the dunes. It was a beautiful day and I got some great pictures of the kids playing in Lake Michigan. That was a perfect day. Laying on the couch in my nightie, watching movies all day, that's another. It all depends on what my soul needs. Sometimes it friends, sometimes it family, sometimes it's just a lazy alone day. All can be classified as perfect in my book!
Deb,
Christmas and sunshine and June 1st and 80 degrees and family--3 years to 90 years--that's my perfect day! Thanks for be a part of it!
Mom
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