Define ‘holiday.’

So what constitutes a holiday?

I didn’t know about number 6, but I have certainly created holidays when painting. Perhaps ‘vacation’ is a more appropriate word:

I have had the first real vacation in years, 14 days ‘… of suspension of work, study or other activities,’ that require effort and energy. Sure, I’ve had ‘holidays’ over the past few years, but I realise I have always been busy doing, not actually resting. In the past 14 days, I have just done what needed to be done and little else. It has been great! I thought I’d be bored by now but, no, I’m not, although I did decide to start writing this blog again. Occasionally I experience pangs of guilt when I think about all the presentations I need to prepare for work, but when that happens, I actively seek out another K-drama on Netflix or Viki to watch. I have until Tuesday before I start my new part-time role, returning the following week to my present part-time job. I could talk about my two jobs, both of which I love, but I’m vacationing so I’m going to explain why my last holidays were not vacations.

September 2020 was my last holiday. It was my sixtieth birthday, and as ‘zero’ birthdays are supposed to have some significance, I was supposed to celebrate it with a house party and friends. Unfortunately, there were a couple of problems. One was that I moved States in January 2020 from Victoria to South Australia. As most of my friends live in Victoria, it would take some organising, but I was up for it. It turned out another unexpected problem was a more significant issue; COVID. Everyone was in lockdown and couldn’t come anyway. So I did what any self-respecting independent woman would do; I went and spent the week by myself. I know, but I thought I’d have a bit of me-time prior to a working week. We had visits scheduled at schools on Kangaroo Island, so I went down the week before to just relax. I chose a beautiful place, overlooking the ocean, in the middle of nowhere. The problem was, it was in the middle of nowhere, an hour to the nearest shop, on unlit and unsealed roads with no phone. It would have been great for a romantic weekend, but I got bored, resulting in me driving all over the island. Got some great photos and saw the devastation caused by the summer fires, but didn’t get much rest.

My previous holiday was even crazier. I went home to New Zealand and proceeded to do a ‘cousie’ road trip, i.e., I visited all my cousins and family in the South Island in 10 days. This involved literally travelling from one end to the other. I started in Christchurch with breakfast with Cousin Andrew, drove to Kaikoura and spent 2 nights with Cousin Susan and family. I then stopped in Blenheim to lunch with a friend before driving to Wakefield to stay with Bob and Esther (brother and sister-in-law). While in the area, I caught up with my eldest brother (Bill) and his family, as well as Cousins Peter and John. After a few days, I hit the road again, heading for Invercargill via the West Coast, traversing the Alps at the Haast Pass. I met my cousin Janine in Invercargill, and we headed to Riverton for 2 nights. Next, I drove up to Dunedin, where I had lunch with my niece Jane, before driving to Christchurch and finishing the day with dinner with my niece Claire. I then flew back to Melbourne to start work. If you are not tired from reading that, I’m exhausted just writing it. Got some great photos though!

I didn’t have a holiday between finishing my last job and beginning my present one; I decided to pack up and move States instead. That was fun, NOT! Organising, packing, selling, cleaning after 16 years living in Victoria was draining, to say the least. Then the drive to Adelaide turned out to be on a sweltering day in Victoria (44⁰ C), with Ella and Zerlina in the car. The heat was moving east as it had been 44⁰ C in Adelaide the day before, so after driving through to sweltering Victoria, we got hit with almighty thunder and lightning storms as we crossed the border into South Australia.

I guess what constitutes a holiday depends on what you want to get out of it, be it rest, experiences, family time, travel, relaxation or a combination of them all. Sometimes you have to travel distance to find it, while other times, it’s at home, in your own space. I’ll finish with a photo taken recently when I decided I just needed to sit by the sea, feel the seabreeze and watch a sunset. Wherever you are spending your holiday, I hope you get what you wanted from it, particularly during these more difficult times as we deal with a COVID normal world.