Tomorrow, right after clinic, I’m leaving on a jet plane. It is technically — as usual — a work trip, but very much out of the ordinary, I will only have to work for around two hours on Sunday. The rest of that time, we will simply be enjoying the sun and the sand on Shelter Island.
In other words, it really is, however brief, an actual, bonafide vacation — I think if it’s more than 36 hours it’s no longer just a getaway or a day trip — something I have not had in such a long time it’s scary. Something I have needed for years.
The timing is completely brilliant: there could not be a better time for me to be able to just get the hell out of dodge, grab a few books and my sweetheart, and decompress. Now that things are dying down a bit — knock on wood, but so far today I have not gotten even one piece of hate mail — I’m actually feeling pretty okay. Stronger, more resilient than I thought I was. Tired, and certainly a little world-weary, but I’m okay. Thanks to everyone who lent me some support over the last few days: I very much needed it, and it was absolute gold.
My Dad is here now (and we did have That Talk this morning, and it went very well), and will be taking care of my child, otherwise known as my dog. I’ll get to come back to see him for another five days, and while I have to do work from home in that time, I will only need to go to the clinic one day that week. He’ll also be here for my 38th — how do these things happen? — birthday next Friday, which is just awesome.
So, off with me. I still have taxes to try and finish, a Dad to hang out with, a pug to snuggle, a bag to pack and fifty gazillion more things to do. But after 5:00 tomorrow, until Monday morning, I’ll be exceptionally busy harvesting freckles, enjoying a cocktail or twelve, soaking my toes in the pool and thanking the powers that be for that much-needed respite.
April 9th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I’m glad you’re able to get out of town and evade this bullshit. It’s astonishing what some people will do to turn a good idea towards their own ends, whether that’s sensationalism or preservation of the status quo. We’re all pulling for you at Shimer.
(And I will get those revisions done on your Wikipedia page at some point, I swear! I’m working a temp job with 12-hour rotating shifts at the same time as I’m reading “The Condition of the Working Class in England” by Engels. The world is a strange place sometimes.)
April 9th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
so very, very glad that you’re able to hide away and get to do a little unwinding. what you’ve gone through over the past few days sounded like a nightmare.
April 9th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I always knew you were a strong individual, but I don’t know if I knew how strong until I saw the t-shirt picture. Every day my two daughters go out into the world and I wonder what will happen to them that day. I hope the bad things pass them by, but I also hope they are as strong as the woman you saw in the mirror when you put the t-shirt on. Thank you for the work that you do and thank you for continuing to speak out.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:15 am
Enjoy your well-earned break! “Harvesting freckles”…LOL!
April 10th, 2008 at 9:37 am
My son will be 28 on Tuesday. It’s getting scary.
April 10th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I call my cat “my son” too.
…I knew someone that called their cat their “friend”…”No, we’re just friends.”
We’re all a little strange with our pets.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I call my cat my “friend”. I have no parental feelings towards her at all. Although sometimes she acts as if I were her kitten.