How Do You Teach Vacation?

The kids' first real Spring Break, a drawing of my kitty, and some great music for your Sunday!

Sundays in the Overachievers Club should recall the feeling of the giant Sunday Edition of the newspaper, hand-delivered with cartoons, film reviews, TV guides, and a big stack of coupons. What joy! So much to investigate. Promises and dreams for the week ahead.

I took the kids to Spring Break… 7 miles from our house.

My kids don’t know what vacation is. Our circumstances and lifestyle haven’t accommodated the luxury. Several generations ago, it probably wasn’t so strange for working-class children to never stay in hotels; to not understand public pool etiquette; to never eat at buffets. But most American children know these things.

I hadn’t noticed our kids were missing these experiences until this winter’s ice storm drove us into a hotel. But that was evacuation¹ not vacation. What defines vacation anyway? If you asked 100 people, you’d probably get 100 different answers… Especially if you asked about someone’s ideal vacation.

My kids aren’t old enough for my ideal vacation — eating fancy meals, lounging in cafés drinking coffee, doodling on park benches, strolling cobblestone alleys. But I felt we owed them something. Some idea of what it was like to be out of our daily routines in a fun way… not just “it’s Saturday, so we need to do our household chores.”

I’m a schedule slave. A taskmaster. It’s the overachiever way. And it’s what I model to my kids everyday. So, I was frank with them on day one of our vacation… when they wanted to do everything, urgently. I said, “Vacations are about doing things with leisure. There aren’t rules. If we want double desserts or to visit the same restaurant for dinner two nights in a row, we can do that! Mommy isn’t great at this either, so we’re going to work on it together, okay?” I think it went pretty well, but certain things are at odds, and it’s difficult to teach your children nuance.

“Why do we get two desserts while on vacation?”

“How come you let us have this when we aren’t allowed at home?” Or vice versa.

“How come we can’t have this? We have it at home.”²

But they got to put cream cheese in their rice crispies — you know, just to try it — eat bowls of ice cream when they already had gummy candies, swim for hours with other kids, use the public pool showers (clothed!), try the gym treadmills, wear pajamas to breakfast, doodle in the lobby….

They got to be silly. Maybe being silly is what defines the ideal vacation for children?

More photo journalism practice!

Twilight over Franklin, TN. No filter.

This one’s for you Christopher Robin, my fellow power-line-obsessed art friend. For a moment, I felt I was staring at one of your paintings.

I love catching the clock at the right time. Don’t you?

Always studying wall art compilations.

new parking garage mural, just in time for spring

I had an idea, which could have been a terrible disaster.

Hotel room coffee is almost always a terrible idea. But I love a good affogato (espresso shot served with ice cream). And, we were on vacation… so I thought, why not?

Was it truly an affogato given I made it with hotel room decaf coffee? Maybe not. Did it hit the spot regardless? 100%. Would try it again.

And, as a bonus, I was eating it when that famous Ratatouille moment³ played on our hotel room TV. Can’t ask for much more on a kid-friendly vacation.

Sharing another oldie this week,

because I’m hoping you will send some well-wishes to my sick kitty. Simone is one of those cats that wins everyone over — even lifelong cat haters! A real sweet baby.

She’s 13 and is often referred to as the “Ghost Cat” because she blends into the shadows and loves to lurk in corners. Recently, she’s lost about half her body weight despite normal blood tests. We’re taking her to kitty internal medicine this coming week to confirm if she has small cell intestinal lymphoma (treatable! I hope.)

Please send her some love and well wishes 🙏🏻

Simone “The Ghost Kitty” | Gouache (2020)

For my artist friends, what are your thoughts painting on toned/colored paper?

No offense to anything Lykke Li’s done since 2014’s I Never Learn,

but if the two singles she’s dropped from her forthcoming album The Afterparty are any indication, fans are in for a treat. I can’t wait!

1. Thief by BirdofParadise (2017)

   Low-key, catchy tune from my friends’ band⁴.

2. Oh, Lover - Edit by Röyksopp feat. Susanne Sundfør (2022)

   I’m kicking myself for missing a Röyksopp single!

3. Lucky Again by Lykke Li (2026)

   I love the digitized western-movie-sound of this track.

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I think you might also like:

1. Same root word, for the curious; the latin verb vacare — to be empty (such as time that is empty of duties).

2. The favorite question for every parent with a child on a specialized diet. “Sorry, this one has [x]. Our one at home doesn’t have [x].”

3. Serendipitous that Ratatouille was playing given I’d just referred to this scene two weeks ago.

4. I didn’t realize they had tracks up on Spotify. Now I am duty-bound to share them! Because they are good.