Dear Employers,

I just wanted to let you know that you got it all wrong. Instead of working 49 weeks a year and getting three off, I think you would have much happier staff if you changed your policy to 49 weeks of vacation and three weeks of work.

Production would go up. Employees would come in with a smile on their face. They'd probably never call in sick - they'd never have to leave early for a doctor's appointment. Most likely, they wouldn't demand a raise (as long as you continued to pay them the same rate as you did for the archaic 49 work/3 vacation plan).

Think about it. It might just work.

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Wayne and I rented a cottage last week, and took the girls away for a few days. It was glorious, and something we should do much more often. We try to be good parents, and we keep our kids busy and active, but the one thing we sorely lack is our ability to just s-t-o-p and relax more often.

Admittedly, that should say that *I* am not good at relaxing. Wayne manages. I'm a multi-tasker by nature - as is evident by the 7 windows that are open on my computer at this moment. Oops...make that 8 - the fax just rang.

Don't worry, though, I'm not neglecting my children - I'm at work - I'm just neglecting my job at the moment :)

It was so nice to have a few days where we slept until we woke up, went to bed when we were tired, went to the beach when the sun shone, and played board games when it didn't. It was so wonderful to sit by a fire at night, and be mesmerized by it. To just...sit and enjoy our family. To be anonymous in a sense - just a family on vacation.

I think parents now are victims of doing, doing, doing all the time. Our family isn't nearly as overbooked as some I know - with many involved in multiple activities for multiple children all at the same time.

We've often joked this summer with friends of ours if it didn't make the big calendar that keeps our lives organized, then it most likely got forgotten.

But, after our vacation, I think we need to take a big black permanent marker and circle a week or two of summer, and not let anyone write in those squares.

There's something to be said for doing nothing. Its the one thing I don't do nearly enough.