Paying the Piper

I am home from one of the very best vacations I ever took. Not only was the time away relaxing and refreshing, it was spent at one of the most beautiful places on Earth - Maui - and it was spent with wonderful people -- my wife, my youngest daughter, my son-in-law, and my two youngest granddaughters.

Aside from surviving the famed "Road to Hana" and lounging on pristine beaches, we took in the sights at Lahaina and its environs, made two short cruise excursions and toured the Ocean Center, which has an aquarium that completely encircles you with exotic fish and sea life. Most impressive was seeing the whales, and my wife managed to catch one on film as it was breeching.

But my very favorite times occurred when Maddy, my four-month-old granddaughter, would sit with me and snuggle her head into my chest, and when Lily, my two-year old granddaughter, would play our own made-up game, which consisted of our chasing each other across the room, with the engraved turtle on the tile located at the entry of the condo being "home base".

The miracle of technology enabled me to keep up with the goings on at the office, which I managed to do early in the morning while everyone else was still asleep. At those times, I was able to handle email and correspondence, so that I avoided losing too much productivity during my absence from work. For someone like me, the peace of mind that comes with keeping up with my practice while away enabled me to make the most of my vacation and the limited time that I had to spend with those of my loved ones who live so far away from me.

Ironically, however, I did not always think that taking this much time away from work would be a good idea. Fortunately, I gave in to the prodding of my wife and agreed to go, and I am now convinced that it was one of the best decisions that I ever made.

But it was an expensive decision (Maui is NOT a cheap place to spend a vacation). So now it's time to "pay the piper". Fortunately, my wife managed to put back enough money to see us through, and I have a lot of clients who provide me with plenty to do.

Now that I am rested and refreshed, I am ready to get back to work!