A Chip off the Old Block

Those of you who know me well will understand the pun in the title....

Well, aside from the usual toiletries (which will be assembled tomorrow morning after my shower), I'm packed and ready to head to the airport. Vegas, here I come! It's kind of weird, but this evening I wasn't in the mood to pack...even though I'm still excited to be spending a vacation with my kid sister.

I couldn't figure out why until about an hour ago. I got a surprise Friday evening phone call from my son. How sweet of him! Usually he goes to karate on Friday nights, which is why I wasn't expecting to hear from him. He had a change of heart and decided not to go. My ex-wife is now an assistant instructor at the karate studio, so he was home by himself. We talked for nearly 45 minutes, which is a long time for me on the phone. But I needed it. I know, I talk to him nearly every day during the week, and at least once on weekends I don't have him. During the week, however, we only spend about 10 minutes on the phone each day, since I'm at work and I want to be responsible.

Nearing the end of our conversation, it dawned on me why the apathy about packing. When all is said and done, I'd rather be spending the weekend with him than on my own, even if it is a vacation. Call me a sap, but I really do love spending time with my son.

The office made sure to let me know that I'd be missed, even though I'm only off for 3 days. To summarize, I get three weeks of vacation each anniversary year, which is on November 2nd. As of this very moment, I have five days remaining...in a "use it or lose it" office. Thankfully, my boss has let me carry over the unused time for a while. In any case, three of the key players in the office made a point to remind me to take my cell phone, should I be needed for an emergency. On one hand, it's frustrating to know that my vacation may be interrupted by work details. On the other, it's good to know that I'm a key asset to them at this time. I guess I'll just have to take the bitter with the sweet.

One final note on the job...since the anniversary was coming due, so was my annual review. I'm happy to note that my review went MUCH better than I had expected. My boss graded me higher than I graded myself...and I gave myself really high marks. Of course, the annual raise comes with the review. Let's just say that it will be much, much easier to take that Disney Cruise with my son next summer!

That's all for now. I'll have more when I return from Vegas!