stay-cation weekend

He enjoys true leisure who has time to improve his soul’s estate.  Henry David Thoreau

Having a restful weekend is not what it used to be.  Or maybe it was, and the effort of “relaxing” is actually quite tiring?   This was a weekend that my wife and I went off to the Omni La Costa (Carlsbad, California) resort for our anniversary.  It was a mini- “stay-cation”, as opposed to all the effort to leave town for one night.  A chance to dress up a little, and have a welcoming “happy 17th anniversary” from the concierge to the room service to the valet fetching the car.  And a heart-shaped balloon for the Missus.   As any good husband should know, an anniversary is an opportunity to pamper your wife.   In the morning she had a massage while I walked the grounds and read a book.

And then we came home late yesterday to walk the dogs, attend to the front and backyard, and straighten the house and run to Target for some items for the week.  (No weekend “date” with your spouse is complete without a run to a “big box” store.)  And then we came home to walk the dogs, clean the house and floor, and clean up the front and backyard.   Doesn’t this say “anniversary” to you, dear reader?

If a man insisted always on being serious, and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation, he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it.  -Herodotus (Histories, Book 2, Ch. 173)

Friends did give us a couple of  passes “expiring today” to the San Diego Zoo.

After church services we the afternoon walking around.  There was a new series of exhibits  depicting African wildlife in their forest, wetland, savannah or southern coastal environment.  It was the down- and up-hill walking that put the final touch on this relaxing weekend.  For me.  A couch at home to rest my exercise-deprived frame was on my agenda.

Happy is the man who finds a true friend, and far happier is he who finds that true friend in his wife.  – Franz Schubert

But with any pampering of man,  for a dog-person there is the requisite attention to be paid to the dog(s).   With one last dog-walk for the day in late afternoon, I was officially tired.   My knees were aching to the point I was becoming grouchy.  (Not the manner I wanted to complete an anniversary weekend).   My wife offered me some wisdom: Go take a nap.  GO!

Sitting at my keyboard this evening is quite restful.  Except for the occasional head-butt or lap-climb exercise from a furry attention-seeker.   With Monday just around the corner, I can say that I am recharged for another week at work.  But that is not quite true.  Perhaps I just need another stay-cation.