Dreaming

Wearily, we arrived home late last night and sadly, for this vacation-loving family, our trip has officially come to an end. We enjoyed every second of our time away and are grateful for the memories that our family made together. We enjoyed the special time we spent with our dear friends and our many days at the beach and pools. We had fun shopping, walking, dining at different places and we all spent a great day at the amusement park. It was a wonderful four days and although we wish it could have gone on and on, we realize that vacations don’t last forever.

An admitted dreamer, I am the one who usually tries to figure out how to make a vacation last forever. For ten years, we have traveled to Coronado Island and I can’t help but imagine living there. I often share this with my husband, careful to suggest ideas that might appeal to him as well. I’ve suggested the option that makes the most sense to me, running our business over there during the summer months and then coming back home for the rest of the year. As I brainstorm out loud, my husband glazes over with a frightened stare and pretends he can’t hear me. I understand that this is his coping mechanism and I'm just grateful that he's still brave enough to vacation where I would love to live. Being a former San Diego resident, it always feels like I’m coming home when we are in southern CA. Instead of San Francisco, I’m sure I left my heart in San Diego.

Most of my brainstorming makes perfect sense to me. With the depressed economy and the housing slump, I suggest to my husband that we “invest” in something on "The Island”. To humor me, he agrees and plays along with the charade, which includes stopping throughout the visit to pick up real estate fliers on properties that are for sale on “The Island”. This year, we found a few deals. There is the 850 square foot bungalow marked down to $1.2 million. Several years ago, this would have been a steal at twice the price. Still a bit steep for our pretend budget, we decide that if we could find a one-bedroom condo, all we’d need would be three sets of bunk beds. We found just such a deal near the resort where we stay. They had lowered the price quite significantly and it was now being offered at $950,000. Even with our pretend budget and all the dreaming, we decide that we'll continue this little exercise next year. 

I think dreaming is a great way to open our box so we can see a little further over the top. Dreaming also allows us a harmless escape from the reality of all that is expected of us in life. As we continued into the final hours of our stay, I decided to keep on dreaming. Along with our friends, we stumbled into the quaintest, cutest, little café. It was the perfect spot to stop for a coffee, a pastry and a good book. They had chess, checkers and other games which our kids sat for hours playing while the adults enjoyed time visiting together. The tables were small, the atmosphere was intimate and the environment was pure casual island bliss. As I sat with friends and family at Café 1134, along Orange Ave., I couldn’t help dreaming about being a local, walking in each morning in my sun dress and flip flops, with my Mac Book, becoming a writer. 

Dreaming, for me, is good for my soul. But, the Mt. Everest-size pile of dirty laundry from vacation, waiting to be washed, reminds me that reality is where I live. There's lots of post-vacation work to be done, but I'd prefer to look at it as an adventure.......it's time to go mountain climbing.