Jun 19, 2015 3 min read

If everything goes according to plan, right now I’m on the beach. My mind left for the beach days ago. My body is a day or so behind. For those of you who suspected my brain to be a large, vacant, gray area devoid of any real thought, you are, at least at this time, correct.

I’m taking a few days and heading to where the land meets the ocean and says, “How do you do?” It’s a place where the waves smack endlessly against the sand.

A day before I leave, there’s a bounce in my step. It’s not just because the heel of my loafers is separating from the shoe. My right foot makes whoopee cushion noise every time I walk down an uncarpeted hallway. It’s a lot like the noise a sponge makes when you wring it out. Darn, that discount shoe store!

But I digress, like I do. The last couple of days, it was difficult to get out of bed, especially on those dreary, rainy mornings. I hit snooze twice and then turned off the alarm altogether. Finally, I rolled out of bed. Later, I found myself lumbering to the office from the parking lot, a slow, steady zombie walk. Any minute, Rick Grimes is going to pop out from behind a mailbox and blast my head off.

But today, the day before I drive to the beach, I’m positively leaping out of bed. Ironically, it’s so I can sleep in while on vacation. I’m good at a lot of stuff, but getting out of bed before the sun isn’t one of them.

I did notice going to the beach is a terrific motivator. Since I’m traveling by car, I had the oil changed, got a part fixed and washed my vehicle.

Side note: My neighbor washes his car every weekend. Even if he washes it midweek, he still washes it on weekends. He washes it so much, I’m convinced he’s going to rub the paint off. I love a clean car, but I need a special occasion to wash the thing. The conditions have to be Goldilocks perfect; it can’t be too hot or too cold, and the sun has to be shining a bit, but not too much or the windows will streak.

Traveling motivates me.

I jump out of bed before the alarm goes off on the morning of the trip. I always find it difficult to sleep on the night before a vacation, like a small child on the night before Christmas. I’m too excited.

Nothing remarkable is going to happen while I’m away. I will nap on the beach, read a book, jump around in the waves and take a couple of long walks. Maybe one night, I’ll eat in a fancy restaurant. It’s nothing spectacular, but I’m still pretty darn excited.

It doesn’t take much. Some sun and a few days away from work and, voila, I’m happy.

The trick will be to carry the attitude with me when I come back.