Thursday, February 23, 2012

President’s Day is normally filed away with Columbus Day and Flag Day, throwaway dates whose true provenances have been overshadowed by the fact that, hey, I don’t have to work at all. But my goal tonight isn’t to rekindle a deep appreciation for these holidays. I don’t give a shit about Columbus, frankly, and even if I did, celebrating the subjugation of native peoples with a long weekend seems just a little sadistic.

What interests me, instead, is the most optimal way to spend this time off and the answer, in a word, is balance. That’s the theory, at least. When I think about my vacations, long or short, the hours invariably fall along three axes: family, friends, and the Xbox. The most forgettable breaks tend to be the ones that settle on any one axis–a long weekend spent entirely on the Xbox, for instance, is truly time frittered away, and patience can easily wear thin with friends and family alike.

This past weekend was one of the best in recent memory. This was partly due to some great weather. But mainly, it was because my time was spread evenly across all three axes. I spent most of Saturday helping a buddy move. You’d think back-to-back hours of manual labor would be the last thing on anybody’s wishlist, but it was good, honest work, and the post-move shower and nap were unparalleled. Sunday was spent visiting family. On Monday, I commemorated Washington’s birthday by playing enough Xbox until my eyes bled and scabbed over. The end result? I repeatedly lost track of time. My weekend felt fuller. And a scant three days defied the time-space continuum and amounted to more than the sum of its minutes.