Vacations......

"Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

So, this picture reminded me of something tropical and when I think of the tropics, I think of being on vacation. Laying on the beach, eating jumbo shrimp and watching the sunset with a loved one. *sigh* If I only I had the time and the money. It's been far too long since I've had the luxury to experience such a thing and it seems that I am not the only one going through vacation deprivation. I've read the Americans take fewer vacation days than anyone else in the industrialized world by far. We give $19.5 billion back to our employers each year in unused vacation time. Something is wrong with this picture. Vacations make us feel good and re-energizes us, so that when we do go back to work and to our daily lives we can be even more productive than we were before. We need to take back our right to go on a vacation and relax. Get away from the world and just be. We need to demand more time to spend with our loved ones and not let anything or anyone take that away.