Summer of (no) regret

As I sit looking out my Victorian window in Chester, watching the tanned vacationers pass by in their bathing suits, I wish I could be on vacation for more than a few days. I'm inside working, calling media, writing strategic plans, pitching business. This is good for an entrepreneur at Dunn & Associates Communications and Public Affairs. Make hay while the sun shines and all that. But oh the sun is shining a lot this summer, and it's hard to keep my eyes on the prize.

But what I also realize is that those vacationers are watching the clock and wishing the time wouldn't pass so quickly. Their freedom is limited so they're vacationing with gusto, drinking cocktails, swimming, sailing and looking uber-relaxed....relaxing as hard as they can. 

I suspect they're looking back in at me and wishing they could live here and have a job that would enable them to be in a vacation environment like Chester all the time.

Now the number of vacationers is dwindling. They've all gone back to reality, their kids are set for school, their paperwork is still waiting on their desks. But I'm still here. Still working, but fitting in little patches of vacation where I can - a swim after work, dropping my daughter at sailing lessons, a moonlit walk with the dog along the waterfront. Little breaks with beautiful scenery.

In the long run I win. I get to live in Nova Scotia and own my business with a flexible work schedule. I get to keep what the vacationers experience in a temporary, seasonal way. I don't have to wish for something I don't have. My vacation is what I make it. Now, it must be cocktail time....