My Dream Vacation

My Dream Vacation

It's funny the things you miss when they're gone
You'd do just about anything to just get back what you once had
Nothing else you thought mattered holds weight to the once was

I remember the days of my childhood where summer vacation was a trip to the zoo
Time spent over night at a friends without a school night
Lazy days of soap operas and riding the bike down the block
Knowing what time to get home by the position of the sun in the sky
Not because a clock deemed it so
I miss those days

I remember the summer my brother and I travelled with my dad
Hopping from beach to beach selling sailboards
Getting up early and eating drive thru from McDonalds
I remember how much better the egg McMuffins tasted at 6 am
Though I doubt they changed the recipe

I remember when the battery in the van died and I wondered if we'd be stranded
Out in the middle of no where as far as I knew
The way things used to be, when a dead battery was the biggest problem of the day
We were still together, without the resentment, the fights

I have a photograph of the three of us
Smiling into the camera
And the sales tape my dad would play out the side of the van
Sailboarding with bic on the beach
It still makes me smile the rare times I manage to play it

I remember hearing about the trips my friends made to far away destinations
Dreams of adventure, even a trip to disney world
I remember wishing I could have that
No one is ever truly happy with what they have

I remember when my mom and I moved from our old place of 21 years
To what I grouchily called the hole,
It wasn't home
I remember holding out for so long in calling any place that again

I remember this time last year as summer started to wind down
Seeing the kittens in the window
Taking in the fresh breeze for as long as the weather held
I remember waking up mornings with cats surrounding me
Toby by my pillow, Teddy by my knees, somewhere close to Bambi
They always made room for one more
Ducky snuggled up to my arm pit
Patches sometimes at my hip
I remember not being able to move
Held down by warm purring bodies
They hold the secrets to the universe you know
You can't resist cat logic when they're pinning you down

I remember being woken up by Ducky's affectionate attentions
I remember Patches curling up on my chest
Forcing me to keep her from falling as I sat at my desk

I remember happiness was found in a gentle purr
Nothing else mattered
Even when I was too blind to see it
I'd give almost anything to have last summer back forever

My vacation started six years ago
I never went anywhere
I never saw anything
Except many a whiskered face needing my help
And that was just fine with me
And now it's gone

If I could have any vacation I wouldn't dream of far away places
I wouldn't dream of touring Europe or seeing the Disney mouse
I'd take last summer forever
It'll always be enough