My father worked his entire life,. Work meant everything to him. When I began my career in the firm with him I didn't take a vacation for about 3 years. I was emulating my father who didn't believe in "family vacations". What he did was travel for business and made those trips his "vacation". He poo poo'd the idea of family vacations, although my fondest memories as a kid were the few trips he did with us, but they all had business purposes. It started to hit home to me that I actually resented the lack of time we spent together as a family when I was a kid.
So, I stopped emulating him. He was wrong. We take vacations as a family and I treasure them. My kids won't grow up being second fiddle to someone who means nothing more than a few bucks to me. Sadly my father learned that all those "friends" that he spent all that time with no longer bother to call or invite him on trips. His purpose in life disappeared and he became angry and bitter. We still continue to play the game that he is "involved' in the firm, but that is all it is...a game. He can no longer read, write or get himself dressed, but he continues to "live" for a few meetings with clients, in which he sleeps most of the time. He gets so worked up about them that he won't sleep for a few nights beforehand, afraid that he will miss the meetings. He doesn't remember anyone's birthday, makes no effort to attend any of the events his grandchildren are in and last week went to lunch at his beach club instead of staying home for a visit from his grandson who had brought his pipes and regalia home the school my father had attended when he was a kid and where he was pipe major for two years. If that was the son of a client or former business associate he would have been there.
I sound bitter huh? Well, I am.
There is zero point in getting upset about it all. I don't yell at him or argue with him about this stuff. I just make darn sure that my kids won't feel that way....ever.
This is what WE do on vacation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gqhjd_o5rv4I have terabytes of pictures and videos clips of all kinds of stuff we have done as a family on our vacations. This is just one I put to music.
