On Vacation

As of tonight, I'm on vacation for seven days. It's probably only my third full week of vacation in the last several (5?) years, but vacation time just hasn't been a priority, for several reasons.

• We're a young family. Taking a week or more to do any traveling is easier said than done with small children in the family. Travel is hard, money is tight, and the kids are too young to participate in most things. Families of six (or seven) are hard to move long distances.
  
• I love what I do. It's not a job, it's part of who I am. I like being on call for people. I like studying and writing and praying and counseling. I enjoy those things like some people enjoy their hobbies. I don't really want a break from it.
• I already enjoy wonderful flexibility in my schedule. Sometimes I work long hours and being on-call means working on my day off sometimes. But for the most part, I have the freedom to come and go as I need to and that kind of flexibility is unheard of in most jobs. I can work from home, change my day off at the last minute, or run home for an hour if needed – that's invaluable to me.
• In theory, we're saving for a big vacation when the children are older. Our dream vacation would be to take the boys to Disney World (or something similar) when the kids are between ages 5-13. Then go again in the next five years, before Brennan leaves the house. We intend to keep other vacations simple and cheap.