Vacations

Vacations, holidays, days off.

I think the only person in the USA who gets as much time off as our counterparts in Europe are schoolkids.

It seems that our kids are never in school. Holidays and breaks mixed in with teacher workdays. I don't remember having that much time off.

I am "trying" to plan another trip to Europe in a few weeks. I had a perfect date. But regretfully my glue that holds my 'fam' together while I am gone cannot come. So - I am trying to move it around.

Europe has public holidays that land on off days. In the US we work holidays into long weekends. Europeans - get a Tuesday off or a Thursday off. It just messes up everything!

Also they take holiday. Long holidays. They visit lands we only hear about on the Travel Channel.

For them a three hour plane ride brings you to Spain - Turkey - Africa - Malta - Greece.

A three hour plane ride for me gets me to....Oklahoma.

So - also in my planning I am working around weeks of vacations.

" I am leaving of the 29th of May.....Not to return until a month later." He says.

"Yes- but then so and so goes on Maternity Leave" I whine. (Men get Maternity leave just like their wives. Most men let thier wife take care of the child the first three months and they take over the last)

"Yes- he will be gone from the end of June until August." He states.

" But I dont want to go back here there in October...it was awfully cold." Pleading into the phone. "Please, just give me a week where everyone will be there. No one will be on vacation, holiday, maternity leave or sick!"

"Well, I think that we are are scheduled to be here at the beginning of December. Because then the company shuts down for the last two weeks of the month for the....holidays."

I give up.