"My Kind of Town...."

Sometimes, I have a hard time deciding which is more fun: planning and thinking about a vacation, or actually going away to where my dreams take me. It always makes work easier, knowing that some time off is just around the corner.

I like to go places I have never been before and see things that I have never seen. Having new experiences and writing down my thoughts about them in a journal, or my blog, is fun, too. Taking pictures and recording the beautiful sights preserves them for me.

And sometimes, I like to stay home when I have vacation time. Just being able to sleep when I'm tired, eat when I 'm hungry and spend the day doing things of my choosing is as much of a holiday as going somewhere. Instead of rushing out the door, off to where I am supposed to be, doing what I am supposed to be doing, I can just be a homebody.....

I guess it is the combination of adventure and homebodiness, in fairly equal proportions, that makes my leisure time so valuable. Not always going somewhere, physically, but being home, truly home, is as much of a treat as seeing the Grand Canyon, or Nantucket.

And what makes a vacation perfect, to me, is to have just the right amount of time off from work, so that I am ready to go back, when it is time. It reminds me that I do enjoy my work, and the people I work with, and especially, my patients.

Each time I visit one of my patients, I like to discuss when my next visit will be. If they have doctor's appointments, I schedule my visits for a different day. So, when I leave, they know when to expect to see me again. I have been preparing them for my vacation for the past week.

And today, each visit ended with good wishes from my patients, telling me to have a good time while I am gone. One patient even told me not to forget him, as if I could.

I took all my paperwork in to the office this afternoon, too. I saw my boss and she told me to have a wonderful time and “don't worry: we'll take good care of your patients!” I know they will, and it makes it easier to leave.

So I'm off, tomorrow morning, on another Great Adventure! I have never been to the Midwest, although I flew over it on my way to New England in 2008. I am looking forward to seeing new things and meeting new people. I will cover about 4000 miles in a little over one week.

And yes, this adventure involves another trip in the big silver bird that I so don't like. But I am getting that over with tomorrow, and then, it's terra firma for the rest of the trip. And I'm not really worried. I know that the trip will be a lot of fun.....

Just as soon as those landing gear gently touch down on the tarmac.....at O'Hare.