Nowhere

I don't understand all you people who like to go away on vacation.  I mean, yes, okay, maybe in the winter, when we're all desperate to stop shivering, anyplace warm begins to look irresistibly inviting. Even I, the homebody of all homebodies, might consider dealing with the b.s. of airports, international flights, hotels, expenses, other languages, and undrinkable water in order to get away from slush and snowbanks for a week or two.  But in the summer?  Why does anyone need to travel in the summer?

I have never understood why people voluntarily get up early to pack and sit in traffic for hours just for the privilege of spending the weekend in what I like to call Bug Country.  Is it really that great to swim in a murky lake with gasoline slicks floating on the surface?  Is a walk not exciting unless you know you might run into a bear around the next tree?  Is the cottage so charming that it's worth exposing yourself to deer ticks and Lyme disease?

You may have figured out that I'm on vacation, at home.  A stay-cation.  A relaxing break in Puerta Backyarda.  It's great here!  I get to sleep in my own bed with my own pillows.  I can wake up at any time and not have to worry about whether or not they're still serving breakfast.  I can have a cookie of my choice from the mini-bar (i.e. my own pantry) and it doesn't cost me 8 Euros.  Actually, the whole experience is dirt cheap.  And speaking of dirt, this place is clean as a whistle.  I know, because I cleaned it myself.  When I reach for a glass, I don't have to wonder if housekeeping wiped it with the same rag they used to clean the bathroom.

I am totally happy relaxing at home.  And yet most people I talk to imply that "not going anywhere" for my time off is extremely eccentric, to say the least.  It's almost socially unacceptable.  The reaction I get when I say I'm doing a stay-cation is usually encouragement to go, like, anywhere else.  People seem uncomfortable with the idea that I don't enjoy going away from home.  Why?  Explain it to me, because I really don't understand why anyone cares that much.

I have had a lovely week off.  I went to a special exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario.  I've gone on long walks in the beautiful weather.  I spent a day shopping downtown with my mom.  I've slept in every day.  Just reading on the couch, next to a open window, listening to robins singing in the trees, is all I really need to feel perfectly relaxed and happy.  All I want is time to enjoy my little home in peace.  And if that's crazy, then I'll donate the money I saved on travel expenses to CAMH, so they'll be all ready for me when I get committed.