I‘ve commented before–there are examples here and here–about the relative rarity of my taking time away from work and going anywhere that isn’t running some kind of errand or some work-related thing. (I’ve actually got one of those trips planned for the fall.) It’s still a rarity, to be sure, although it is becoming less of one; I am working at getting better at resting, which I know is a strange thing to read, particularly when written by someone who has an inside job with little heavy lifting after having made an attempt at living one of the nerdiest lives imaginable. (It is possible to be a bigger nerd than a literature professor, but it’s not easy.) But it is true; I have not been good about letting work stay at work or about taking time with my family over getting just a little bit more work done, and I am working to get better about that.

My wife is better about it than I am–so much so, in fact, that she has taken the whole week off from work, making time to spend with our daughter, Ms. 8, in this short stretch between the end of her school year and the beginning of a series of camps and workshops that will take up her summer. (She’s got several weeks of theatre camps and a week of Girl Scout camp coming up, Ms. 8. It will keep her busy–and in the right kind of trouble.) Already, the pair of them have gone to a nearby water park, and Ms. 8 has gotten to have a more local excursion that still seems to have suited her well, and I’m glad of both of them. My wife works harder than I do–she’s got her own job, and she has to put up with me and my stolidity–and so deserves the chance to do some of what she wants to do, and I naturally think my daughter should have it all (she also works for things; of that, I make sure).

Like I said, though, I’m improving. I wasn’t able to give the whole week to it, but I have taken off a couple of working days this week to spend with my wife and daughter. Per the former, we’ll be taking day trips over the next few days, revisiting some things that she and Ms. 8 have enjoyed and exploring some new things that they’ve found of interest. For my part, I’m more or less along for the ride; I’ve not improved to the point that I can actually seek out stuff to do that isn’t some new piece of work or another, which I know is not necessarily the best sign by which to navigate a life. But I’m happy to drive them around, saving them the trouble, and I’m trying to be open to the experiences they’ve got planned. If nothing else, it will be good to be around them as they make good memories together.

I’ll see about having something to say about my part in all of this.

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