Are you on Vacation, Really?

I’m on vacation.  That is, I was.  It was a quick getaway, just a few days, short and sweet.  But was it really a vacation?  No, I’m not complaining.  I’m reflecting.  There was a time when one left the office, factory, or field, and one was totally free from work, with no strings attached, no expectation of “staying in touch.”  But in today’s world of streaming data, smart phones, wi-fi, email, Facebook, Twitter, and Broad Band Internet connections, who’s really free?  These aren’t strings lightly attached, they can be bonded chains.

I had no choice.  I had to take my laptop computer along with me.  As an adjunct professor at a local private university I am required to take a certain class on “Designing and Teaching a full Online Course.”  Vacation or not, I had to “show up” for attendance, online of course, and do the assignments, respond to assigned questions, do the reading, etc.  Not to mention the fact that I had other obligations and duties to work on while away, which I was able to do because of my trusty laptop.  For example, take this blog; my goal is to write a new piece no less than once a week.  Anyone notice that I skipped a few days and went beyond a full week since my last entry?  Funny, I had actually planned on doing some writing for the blog while on vacation — hence, is it really a vacation or just a change of environment?  In the end, however, I decided to be a little late and extend the blog’s weekly deadline.

Modern technology has made communication simpler and more immediate, so much data and info is now at our finger tips, just waiting to be searched and found.  But what is it doing to our rhythm of life?  How is it affecting our ability to have real and meaningful “downtime” or recovery time or even just personal and family time without being intruded upon?  It’s not just a lifestyle question.  It’s a real question of values, meaning, and relationships as to time and who owns and controls our time.  How shall we find our own real time, personal “living” time, in the midst of such powerful technology?  Do we serve time, or should time serve us?  For some, it can even be a social-justice issue.  How much right does a company, boss, owner/operator have, to demand of your time simply because you are high-speed and wirelessly connected?  It’s interesting how, in a world of fast and varied connectivity, more and more individuals seem to feel the lack of actual “connection,” and have a greater need for real meaningful, appreciative and productive personal relationships within a viable community.

Nevertheless, that being said, my college age son and I did indeed have quality time together.  We talked, reflected, ate together, took in a couple of movies and did some sightseeing in the state of Maine.  We ended the short get-away trip pretty much feeling that we had a satisfactory time together.  And that was true in spite of the fact that we both had our laptops with us and worked on them, whenever we had the opportunity to do so, even though we were on vacation.