Anway, I'll admit that I acted more like a kid than my kids. Acres and acres of waterslides, pools, chlorine, bikini's, waves and $8 beers makes a guy forget about fantasy sports for awhile. It was good to get away, forget about the bad weather, the bad economy and the bad stock market and just chill out for a few days. It also gave me time to reflect on many things.
Here are a few lessons learned from my vacation that hopefully you can all relate to:
** Is it just me or are tattoos so prevalent now that you're actually in the minority if you DON'T have a tattoo? I'm color free, as are my kids, but it's tough to find many others without a tattoo. Nothing against it, mind you, just curious how just a decade ago we thought Dennis Rodman was a freak with all those tattoos and now nose piercing and body painting is all the rage. We have Rodman to thank for all of this.
** It's true that gas prices are pinching Americans in a big way, but when it comes to a summer vacation we tend to say "damn the expense." That's what I love about America. We work hard and we know how to treat ourselves. And when it comes to our kids, we treat them to a memorable time as well and worry about the credit card expense later.
** No matter where you go, you're bound to bump into someone you know, right? While standing at one of the pools in Wisconsin Rapids, I had a guy come up to me and say, "Are you Greg Ambrosius?" That's always a good thing and when I said yeah the fellow said "I'm Russel Wyatt, I'm in your NFBC league." It was great to meet our first-year player from the Chicago area who is having a solid NFBC season. He told me the moustache gave me away, but it was fun to meet him in this setting as his three kids and my three kids swam away. What a small world.
** Never mess with Mother Nature. Living in Wisconsin for 48 years has taught me that already, but this past year has engrained that saying in my head. This winter was a tough one here in Wisconsin with 100+ inches of snow and now this spring has literally been a killer. Floods have ravaged Wisconsin homes and farmlands and the same is happening now in Iowa and Missouri. We vacationed near Lake Delton, the man-made lake that drained last week when a dam broke. What a site to see as a 265-acre lake with million dollar homes all around it stood empty of water. Again, don't mess with Mother Nature.
** Kids are the best. I can't imagine working so hard just for myself. When you can splurge things on the kids and see their joy, then life is as good as it gets. My kids smiled for four straight days and were almost too tired to even fight!!
Damn, we need to take more vacations if that's the recipe for happiness!! Honestly, it makes all the hard work pay off when you can have that much fun with the kids and you provide them with a memory that hopefully they will hold onto forever. Better yet, hopefully they will learn a life lesson that will translate into them building a good life in the future and splurging on their kids as well. Now that's a good circle of life.** Take a vacation. Don't look at your checkbook or your stock portfolio. EVERYONE needs a break from the rat race. Man, I know I feel better after getting away for a few days. So take this command from the commish: Even with the tough economy, treat yourself and your family this summer to a getaway. You won't regret it.
I have other life lessons (like some folks shouldn't be in swimsuits in public
), but I can't share them all with you right now. Buy me a drink someday and I'll provide my wisdom. Enjoy the rest of the NFBC season and remember to take a family break when the time is right.
