Over the years

…though there have been just a few, one summer morning I wake up and realize it is the perfect morning to begin a vacation.  Oh, I'm not going to do that today, but the conditions are perfect for someone, anyone to be opening the trunk of their car and putting their suitcases into it.

If it were me, I can see myself, preparing snacks to munch along the way and a tall (mostly ice cube filled) container of water sitting on the kitchen counter next to my purse with my house keys sitting alongside.

Zorro and Frankie are so excited they can barely contain themselves.  They know something wonderful is about to happen.  Frankie pretends to be reading the colorful brochures of the places we are going to see.  She sits.  She stands weight on one foot and then the other. She sits.  Zorro of course wonders if he is going to participate or be stuck at home with some stranger checking in on him from time to time.

I wander through the house, checking locked windows and doors, make sure last potty breaks were taken and that the toilets are NOT idly running.  I know lights are on timers, mail service has been stopped, neighbors have been notified we will be gone, and one in particular has our itinerary 'just in case'.

By now, I've a gigantic lump of excitement in my throat, I run through all the things on my hand written note, my #2 pencil making various sized check marks as I go.  One last hasty walk through the house and I'm finally standing at my front door.  Frankie is making her way to the car; Zorro gives me a quizzical look as if to say, “Is this my final potty break?”

I breathe in the cool, rose and lemon mint scented air.  Bees flit by.  Summer birds sing.  I glance at the outdoor thermometer the temperature reads a perfect 68 degrees.  The sky is a cloudless amethyst blue.  I close the door and gaze around my neighborhood full of 'comfortable' while Frankie, Zorro and I begin a venture into the unknown and places never seen.  We're going to eat things we've never had before in quaint small town diners and sleep in uncomfortable beds not quite our own.  We'll stop at every local historical, natural and tourist trap to buy things that will eventually sit in draws or shelves gathering dust.

And finally we’ll come home; tired and weary yet eager to see things familiar...our freeway off ramp, the fast food joints, the neighborhood gas station, the neighborhood store and school.  Oh...there it is! The four way stop with blinking light and finally...our street...our block...our home.

Sigh.

Today would be a perfect day to start a vacation.