Aaaahhhhhhh, vacation
I love vacation. Even short trips, or just a few days off from work. I love going places, seeing things, escaping my world for awhile. The only downside is coming back to reality. Blech.

I enjoy big trips to big places to do big, exciting things. Adventure is always fun. But I also enjoy the quieter trips to visit friends, just to spend time together.

I traversed out to cloudy California for a few days to visit some friends, including their newest addition, a bouncing baby boy. Well, he doesn't bounce so much as he just lays on the floor drooling and flailing about. But he is quite fun, all the same. The sunshine was minimal, but the company was grand. Activity revolved mostly around eating and staring at the kiddo. It was quite relaxing and enjoyable for me.

I've found that I appreciate and enjoy when people allow me into their lives, even more than getting together to do 'stuff'. I just think it's the coolest thing when friends are so open as to let me do with them the things that they do. There is something to be said about getting past the formality of meeting 'someplace' to do 'something', and simply just spending time together in the day to day. I value friends letting me get to know them in their world, knowing they enjoy having me there. Finding those friends who are also fans of who you are, and who truly want to be apart of your life and also let you into theirs, including the baby poo, morning bedhead, crazy family BBQs, and sitting around in pjs until noon, is something fabulous.

It's not necessarily glamorous or adventurous. But far from boring or undesireable. I'd trade the adventure of meeting 'someplace' to do 'something', for baby gurgle, liquified peas on the wall, and good friends to share it with any day.

C.T.