Hallmarks of the Vaca

I don't know that there is ever a hallmark to any of my vaca's except maybe the following. Generally I go to sleep at an ungodly hour, which is the only way I end up sleeping in. Generally I do a lot of talking on the phone to people I don't have the opportunity to talk to when school is in season, or if life is just too busy. And lastly I do a lot of reading.

This break I read René Syler's book Good-Enough Mother which was a fascinating read. I'm neither woman, nor a mother, but it didn't stop me from having an appreciation for René's story. The book focuses on René's unconventional approach to parenting due in part to her marriage and her career. René married a man fourteen years her senior, who already had a grown daughter. Later they had kids, and her career as a broadcast journalist took off. Then she had to balance being an independent woman, being a loving wife, being a caring mother, and being a conscientious anchorwoman. It's an amazing story about how René has managed to create the life she would be most happy with. Let me tell you reading about René's kids Casey and Cole and her husband Buff left me laughing a whole lot. Her daughter 10-year-old Casey is depicted as a beautiful, sensitive, do-gooder, the classic do no wrong type. Her son 8-year-old Cole is portrayed as a equally lovely child, but one whose adventurous, often unpredictable, an adorable free spirit. Even though as I said I'm not woman, nor am I a mother, it reminded me of something. Some women endeavor to be perfect mothers, most people at some point in their lives endeavor to be perfect people. It's for all of us to be "good enough" for our families, but more importantly for ourselves.

Now as school picks back up I'm reading In An Instant which was the book co-written by Bob Woodruff and his wife Lee. It chronicles what happened after an improvised explosive device hit the vehicle in which Woodruff was riding in Baghdad last year. The explosion shattered Woodruff's skull, lodged debris in his head, and blew a hole in his back but fortunately he survived. Woodruff who weeks before had become co-anchor of ABC's World News Tonight was the first television news anchor injured while covering a war. Their book discusses his injury, his recovery, and the impact on their family. Also, it discusses their love story, and sacrifices they made so that both could have fulfilling careers and have the family, they always wanted.

I guess it rather serendipitous that I'm reading these books as I prepare to cross the threshold from child to adult, and prepare to end my studies and begin a career. It will help me contemplate what I'll do to have a complete life.