Exactly that… it is SIMPLE.

Next week, I’m being force into a week long vacation. Not by choice mind you. But due to the economy, my company has decided to close shop for one whole week in order to make a dent on our 3rd and 4th quarter financial outlook.

I’m taking my resume out of retirement

But, in the meantime I have a whole week off and no plans to go anywhere, which sucks THE.BIG.ONE.

Since this force vacation is an unpaid one, I had to compensate. And in order to do this I had to search for a side job. Luckily, I found one. Unfortunately, I’m not looking forward to it.

As this week draws to a close, and next week looms in the horizon, it makes me think back when I was young and on a summer break and the though of having FREE time, to just be! was exciting and counting the days to that freedom, consume my every waking moment.

Ahh to be six again!

My childhood was a playtime dream! I was an outdoor child, while we had a TV in the house; it was never put much to use, because my sister and I were out playing, outside, on the street! It was all about exploring everything around us, building forts with tree branches, jumping on puddles and playing with dirt. Simply put, it was about finding our inner Thoreau.

Thinking back, on all of the activities we did, these were some of my favorite:

Riding my bike – I had one of those with a pretty basket up front and the hanging tassel on the handle bars. It was my most prize possession. Riding free, feeling the wind and peddling fast and slow, enjoying the view, and knowing that there is no rush.

Playing Tag – Remember this one? God we did so much running!

Climbing a tree – We had huge trees in my backyard and they were the staple of my childhood, I remember climbing those huge trunks and hanging like a big cat over the branches, just sitting, enjoying and daydreaming. I’m looking at the big tree out in my backyard right now… do I have it in me?

Kite Flying – not only did we fly them, but we build them, a couple of sticks, newspaper and string and up, up and away it go. Ah, the simple things in life!

Marble tournaments! Those were my favorite, because it involved my favorite things: dirt, competition, and pretty glass things.

As I write this list, it makes me wonder what happen to that carefree take on life I had when I was six? Oh, sure, I can be honest with myself and know that with a full-time job, the boyfriend, the house, the dogs and everything else in between, it might take me a little longer these days to escape my mental to-do list and allow myself to be consumed by the simple things in life. But, really how hard can it be? To approach the world through the eyes of a child, to perceived simplicity in our everyday, because really, it is exactly that… it is SIMPLE.

And I’m starting by getting myself a bike.