The Vacation That I Had Almost Missed

It was so relaxing. After a day of meetings, and a week of writing and working while on vacation, I finally got the downtime that I had been looking for. Last night while sitting quietly in the backyard of a friend, all of the week's troubles and frustrations simply went away. The short, graveled path led to tiny flat rock Cul de sac of decorative frogs, lush potted plants and two wrought iron rockers. Beyond was a thick landscape of trees and underbrush accessible only to the squirrels, rabbits and other smaller animals that could be heard moving in the darkness. It was an unexpectedly calming and therapeutic sanctuary on the edge of nature. As a deeper darkness closed in and the pleasant night time breeze dropped to a whisper, lights began to flash in the evening sky. There were thousands of them. First from deep in the woods they came, never venturing beyond the tree line. Lightning bugs were making their nightly appearance like some band of flittering fairies from Bill's "Midsummer Night's Dream." I sat quietly in my rocker watching the luminous specks flash in unpredictable patterns and remembering my own summer nights as a child. With an open jar in-hand, I would chase the flashing lights as they darted here and there, occasionally snagging one then quickly screwing on the hole laced cap to prevent escape. Non-stop development in the big city and spraying for mosquitoes have ended this sort of display at home. This treat (retreat may be a better word) was just what my working vacation had needed. As I quietly rocked on that tiny flat rock CUL de sac the lightning bugs and the memories surrounded me. The Beatles were playing on the Oldies station inside the house, and for a short time I found the vacation that I had almost missed. A vacation miles from the real world and shared with a few thousand illuminated friends.