Tomorrow is the last day of my Summer vacation, and as I look back I can say we didn’t “do” all that much. In fact my biggest event over the two weeks was seeing two films in the theater, Incredibles 2 and Ant Man and The Wasp. Both were a lot of fun but going to the theatre is something I do quite a bit, not really big “vacation things.”

We also spent a great deal of time with our neighbors, whom we love. Because our schedule consisted of asking the question, “Where are we eating tonight?” getting together was easy. But, again, hanging out with neighbors is just the type of thing we do anyway. It wasn’t some new grand adventure, it was just more.

I took a good number of photos, but didn’t feel the need to go traveling to some brand new location. Capturing the local and ordinary was just fine.

I found some time to go through the edits for a few chapters in Penny Gnomes, but I wasn’t pushing myself to get certain amount of material before break ended. I had a few free moments, and plopped down in s chair to work. I didn’t even read any books, which is unusual for me, but for this vacation it just felt like a task. I didn’t want any tasks.

I did pick up some pieces of software, and used my free time to play around with these new tools. It was the type of play I find many people tend not to approve of ¹, so having an empty schedule to sit down and experiment was a nice treat.

Other than that I spent time with my wife, held Bump a lot, continued to get not enough sleep, and did a bit of writing. It was a boring vacation, by all accounts.

It was just what I needed. My stress levels are down, my brain feels more engaged ², and I found myself thinking of new possibilities. By normal vacation standards I did nothing for two weeks, and it may have been the best recreation I’ve ever experienced.