Vacation, etc.

So every November for as long as I can remember me and my best friend have gone to Mexico. And every year he does a song and dance about how he doesn't want to go. And every year as it gets closer to mid September he changes his mind and really looks forward to it.

I've never believed his act… except for this year. This year, at this point in time, he is still insisting that he does not want to go. And I believe him. And I totally respect that decision. And I will not try to change his mind.

And I have been overly emotional ever since. I'm feeling many different things about this but mostly I'm feeling very sad.

I've come to rely on the time spent in Mexico and more importantly the time spent with him as my decompression valve for the whole year.

It is the one time of the year that I completely relax for more than a brief moment. We have been there so often that we know where everything is. We know the restaurants we like. We know the people. We know the staff. We know directions. We know locations. There is absolutely nothing to do but relax and enjoy.

We even go in November because it is the quietest time of the year with the best weather. It is peaceful. It is sitting on the beach and eating under the stars. It is watching sunsets and laughing ourselves silly. It is smoking and drinking and talking and relaxing.

I'm certain that I could come up with other vacations or another travel companion or I could go on my own but it won't be the same. Nothing ever is but there was just something so perfect about this one thing we did that I will be sad about this for a while and I will miss it.

I know that everything changes but that doesn't make the changing any easier. And it is ok to be sad. But if I'm still sad about this in a week or so… please kick my butt.

And besides, maybe he'll change his mind.