accidental vacations

While Genna and I are on the road almost constantly, we rarely vacation. We're gone so much that I tend to want to stay put when I can. Genna will say, "Let's take a break and go on a trip." and I say "I'm too tired to go anywhere, let's just stay home and not work for a week."

Obviously, this is a flawed plan. I go in to the studio for this or that little reason and the next thing I know I've worked another full day...or there's cleaning to do at home...or somebody's calling for VAAL business that needs attention.

So, the only way I actually take vacation time is if the universe interveens for me. Last year, we pulled up to the show site for the Port Clinton Art Fest in suburban Chicago to find that the show was to be the following weekend. Oh oh. Genna was in the middle of his huge Kia project, so he had to fly home for the week. Nastiya and I got the accidental vay-kay...we drove to my grandmother's in Michigan and had a blissfully peaceful FULL WEEK away from the studio. My mother flew in and took us on a canoe ride down the AuSable River (she grew up in a canoe livery on said river). It was the very best trip...lots of girl talk, bonding, sharing, make-overs, pillow fights. I hope Genna isn't reading this because he had to go home and work the whole week and still might be just a little mad.

The reason I've brought this up now is that the universe just handed me an even better accidental vacation. Genna was waiting online for Nastiya to get home(home to her Ukranian home)on Thursday so they could have their weekly Skype chat. While waiting, he decided to check in with a high school friend whose kids were waiting for work and travel visas for this summer. Turns out that their visas had come through just the day before and they were on their way from Kiev to Atlanta the next day.

Long story short (too late, right?), Genna offered to pick them up at the airport and drive them to Destin, Fl. Voila, week at the beach here we come!