To my good fellows…

Dear Carolyn (because you asked if I would be blogging),

As it turns out, working 40 hours a week in front of a computer is reason enough to avoid a computer — and, therefore, my promised blog posts — while on vacation, especially when that vacation includes a husband who works with patients and has no real aversion to computers. He considers my laptop part and parcel of his beach vacation, and his idea of sharing typically doesn’t yield me the time to both reflect and type blog posts. But as I nibble on peanut M&Ms from a “sharing size” yellow bag with no intention of sharing, I understand him well.

However, Steve is currently on a bike ride, the computer is free, my walk reminded me that I had promised to write, and so I am.

Quickly.

The beach is beautiful. I awaken early enough to watch the sun rise over the bay and just as eagerly watch the sun set over the gulf in the evening. I’ve both leisurely and briskly walked the shoreline, engulfed myself in the murky saltwater stirred by recent storms, and attempted water aerobics in the condominium pool. I’ve both avoided and welcomed people and conversations, attempted healthy habits and embraced bad ones (e.g. peanut M&Ms), and successfully forgotten to check my work email. Vacation is good. (I trust my fellows are better, holding down the fort in my absence.)

My goal today is to fitness swim along the shoreline, looking like the Creature from the Lost Lagoon in bathing cap and goggles, wearing black fins (while not being followed by any denizens of the deep with their own fins). The fins — for strength training — are on my feet, not on my back to scare other swimmers to shore. My husband promises to follow along the shoreline with my water bottle to both watch for those denizens and keep me hydrated. (A seriously nice guy.) Yesterday afternoon, I tried this as waves crashed and was rewarded with two huge mouthfuls of water in lieu of the air I’d aimed to inhale…

I always leave for vacation thinking I cannot possibly leave work behind, and yet I have. I will return to work on Monday, slightly more tan, perhaps a tad bit heavier, but rested and relaxed.

I hope all is well with you and the rest of the fellows.

See you soon!

Sara

P.S. I haven’t had any ice cream here, either.