"I know you're going away this weekend..."

My Beautiful One Eyed Boy, Leonardo, originally uploaded by livefunky.

Here is a picture of my boy this morning. He knows I'm going away. He always knows, even if I don't "tell" him. How do I know? Because any other day he'd be bouncing at my feet, barking to go out and play, go for a ride, a walk, anything! But when I am about to leave for a trip, even if it's just for a couple days, he gets a little solemn and looks up at me with that one, blazing eye. Hits me right in the gut. It's hard to EVER leave! And the next few weekends I/we will be traveling, so I'm going to have to really make it up to him during the week.

Yesterday Leo and I went to visit my cousin who lives on a great country property less than a mile away from where we live. He's got a pretty big pond and Leo LOVES swimming. He did not stop for HOURS. Steve and I sat on the hill and tossed a frisbee which Leo chases then leaps in the air to catch. Whenever he missed, he'd pick up the fris and come back to us to throw it again. If he caught it, he'd reward himself with a dip in the pond. It's insane when you can read the more random thoughts of your pet. They have such personality, as you all know.

I'm going to visit my best friend in Long Island. I never enjoy driving through the city, but I'll brace myself for the white knuckle drive. She's worth it and thensome! It will be nice to get away. It's been a while that I went off and did something on my own. Next weekend is a group trip to Hermit Island in Maine where we will camp and kayak and hike along the awe inspiring coast.... uhhhh yes. Then Rob and I have a wedding out close to the Cape Cod (where we got married last year in June) so we'll probably spend a night on the Cape (off season cheap motels are plentiful!) and soak in some of our favorite spots. It will still be enough off season to not be a mob fest. It's been a year (the wedding/honeymoon) since I had a vacation and I feel like this time right now is vaca time! I have things I need to get done so I can't blow off a whole week, but I'm really making the most of the weekends. How many self employed artists/crafters out there do not stop working over the weekend? Raise your hands. I'd bet every hand in the house is raised right now.

So I hope my ramblings makes you stop and think "yeah, I can take this Sunday off" or "why not take a road trip this weekend?" or even "I'm giving myself three straight, uninterupted hours this weekend to just sit back and enjoy life". Do something fun, or relaxing or anything you need right now. We all need money and can make that an excuse for not doing something fun, but there are plenty of ways to have a lot of fun with very little cash. Just enjoying your own backyard. So many of us work so hard to make our yards look beautiful, but don't stop to really enjoy them. Love and joy and good times wished to you all.....
jt