The Mental Enema Theory of Vacations

The number of unfinished journals I have is depressing. The best I ever did was a daily blog of the first (?) 1,000 days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The journals I try to keep in ink tend to dwindle after a week or two. Part of that is not wanting Spouse to inquire as to what I am writing. He tends not to ask about anything I'm typing, likely figuring it to be an email to someone or, just maybe, a blog post that he likely won't read (I'm not sure he even knows how to get to my blog let alone that I've started it up again). Just as I never wanted Older Brother to read my youthful diaries, I'd rather not share personal journals with Spouse. Anything I type here I recognize will be public.

Lengthy explanation aside, I recently came across a page dated May 14, 2014. If there were subsequent pages, they ended up filed elsewhere. This post was from the day on which Spouse and I set out for a gathering of what I call my Internet Quilt Guild. At that time, we tried to gather every two years, and the 2014 gathering was in Perth, Western Australia. In the post in question, I noted that I had obtained a copy of People magazine "to provide the mental enema I need to empty my mind of everyday routine and (get) ready to enjoy vacation." This is a reference to the Mental Enema Theory of Vacations I developed over several trips to scuba diving vacations in the Bahamas. On those trips, I took books such as Rock Hudson: His Story by Rock Hudson and Sara Davidson, Larry Hagman: A Biography by Leon Adams, Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography by Kitty Kelley, Vanna Speaks by Vanna White and Patricia Romanowski, and Mr. T: The Man with the Gold: An Autobiography by (who else?) Mr. T. (To this day, I admire Mr. T for working two colons into one title.)

I limited such books to one per trip, and had to start them on the outbound trip. I seem to remember finishing each of them before we arrived in the Bahamas, though the Nancy Reagan one may have taken longer. When asked by colleagues and friends why I read such books, I explained my Mental Enema Theory of Vacations. To enjoy a vacation fully, it should be entered with a mind bereft of work or home concerns, things one should have done before leaving, or things one should do on returning. Reading a book such as those listed above empties the mind of anything remotely serious, preparing it to be filled with vacation joy. 

After 2014, I evidently forgot about all this, though I don't think it had too detrimental an impact on any of the trips we took. That suggests further research into this theory is needed. Stay tuned for a more complete report.