parenting | Piss and Moan

Vacation planning

Posted on June 20, 2019 by backuphill

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There is a reason teachers would rather go to work sick, or skip all professional development. It’s because it is more work than it is worth. Planning takes time and effort and more times than not there is more work to do when you get back. It is just easier to be there than to not be there.

Now that I am not in the classroom, I think I have found the regular working stiff equivalent.

I now understand why Americans would rather work and accrue vacation days rather than actually go on vacation.

Why is using vacation and taking a vacation so much work?

Steps to taking a vacation:

Plan when to go on vacation MONTHS (if not years) in advance.
Save your butt off for vacation (or rack up CC bills while on vacation so you can work your butt off when you return).
Ask for time off and cross your fingers someone didn’t beat you to the dates.
Plan where to go or what to do…this couldn’t probably be 10 mores steps by itself but for demonstration purposes, I’ll keep it at one.
Arrange for pet-sitter/house-sitter/rides to or from airport.
Shop for vacation.
Pack for vacation.
Load up the car.
Worry about forgetting something while you drive away.
Unload the car.
Hustle off to destination.
Unpack when you get to destination.
Do stuff. See stuff. Eat stuff. Drink stuff. Repeat.
Pack to go home.
Load the car.
Worry about forgetting something at the place you just left.
Travel.
Get back home.
Unpack.
Do laundry from vacation (and perhaps a house-sitter).
Catch up on mail.
Catch up on yard work.

Return to work exhausted.

Is vacation really worth the trouble?

Anyone else ever feel like this? Ever needed a vacation from your vacation?

On the horizon

Posted on June 17, 2019 by backuphill

macro photography of black sunglasses on sand

Photo by Ylanite Koppens on Pexels.com

The longest week known to man is the week before a vacation.

The days drag.

The nights are filled with planning and preparation.

Vacation is on the horizon but there is so much to do beforehand.

While at work the only thing you can think of is what you would rather be doing during the vacation week to follow.

It’s as if vacation is but a mirage in the desert right now. Is it real? Will it provide relief and rest? Is refreshment ahead?

I can see it. I can almost touch it…and yet the horizon feels so far off.

How do you make it through the week before a vacation? Do you have a strategy to deal with the anticipation and distraction?

Not representative

Posted on June 13, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Lukas Kloeppel on Pexels.com

Recently I was tasked with finding a used car to purchase for my daughter. A process I am not fond of, let alone knowing my daughter is now old enough to be out on the road on her own. Scary times I tell ya!

Anyway, looking for a used car these days is tough. People are shady.

People are shady.

Hundreds of car ads on multiple platforms and driving by, stopping and looking, at cars on the side of the road with signs in them. It is hard to find a quality used car for a decent price. Or, I should say a decent car for an inexpensive price.

I wanted something that I didn’t have to worry about my 16 year old being on the side of the road in the dark somewhere but also knew it wasn’t going to be in perfect condition. The problem is that when you take all that into consideration and then add in a relatively limited budget, well let’s just say an ice cube in hell has a better chance. LOL

People are shady.

I already knew that point, but as I looked at cars online and then would go look at them in person I found a great majority of them were misrepresented in the ad. The body condition was accurately reflected in the photos. The interior was purposely misrepresented for obvious or glaring flaws. The engine leaked oil. The description left out the mile on the vehicle. Windows didn’t work. Mold growing on the interior? Come on.

Anyway, we found a car. I am not sure it was as great a deal as we first thought. New brakes all around after purchase and the key FOB doesn’t work even after the battery replacement. It is even possible the engine was pressure washed to hide a small oil leak.

I didn’t expect perfect, but people are shady.

Have you had similar purchase experiences from buying this online? Got a horror story to share?

Voluntold

Posted on June 12, 2019 by backuphill

photography of a person pointing on something

Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com

I think there is a little bit of this in everyone.

You have something planned for the day, either at work or in your personal life. You have things ready to go and then all of the sudden you find your plans have changed.

Not because you want them too, but because you have been “voluntold.” Maybe you have heard of it. Maybe you have been the unwilling victim.

The boss. The wife. The parents. Maybe you missed a meeting. Maybe you were selected because of your “qualifications.” Maybe you’re just unlucky.

I am sure you have run into it at least once.

No one likes it.

And yet, we all have maybe done it to someone at the same time. Ah, sweet revenge…

I don’t want you…

Posted on June 7, 2019 by backuphill

white and black soccer ball on side of green grass field during daytime

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Kids. They can be so confusing.

When my daughter was really young she used to tell me that she “didn’t want me.” I, of course, knew she was mad at me and knew that she wasn’t really speaking truth, at least the truth of a 2-3 year old.

Now I find myself in the later years, as she is a teen, saying more things that start with, “I don’t want you…”

Most of the time is related to a request for her independence and I respect that. I shouldn’t need or want to do everything for her. I am willing to let her explore things on her own and allow her the freedom to have success and to make mistakes. I may not always be happy about the choices, but they are hers to make. I can, of course, choose not to honor the “I don’t want you…” if I know the choice or decision isn’t in her best interest and is dangerous.

She now has a job. It’s doing something she likes (kinda, kids don’t really like to work) and in a sport she has enjoyed for a long time. She has been reffing soccer games for the parks and rec. For the most part, she has enjoyed it and she has been successful at it this year.

I once said, shortly after she got the job, that I was going to come watch her some time. Her response was, “Dad, I don’t want you to come watch me ref games.” When asked why she said that was just weird, that parents aren’t supposed to go to their kids’ place of work just so they can watch them. OK, get that. We visited my son at Taco Bell shortly after he got his first job just to tease him a little but it wasn’t to sit and watch him during his whole shift.

So, to honor her request, I have stayed away. Part of me wants to go watch her and be proud of the job she does, but I can also do that just sitting at home. I don’t have to see her to know she is doing the best she can, really enjoying what she is doing at the time, and be proud of her too. Right?

Am I correct in honoring her “Dad, I don’t want you…”?

Why can’t kids come with a damn instruction manual?

white and black soccer ball on side of green grass field during daytime