Stay-cation or stagnation?

Okay, so I'm on a week off. I hesitate to use the word "vacation", with all that it conjures of exotic locales, frothy drinks, leisurely sex and a bathing suit. Here's my vacation reality - sleeping in (only to be periodically accosted by the head cat, whose appetite waits for no one, even the holidaying) doing very little, the only frothy drinks have been courtesy of Starbucks, and the only sex has been on "True Blood". And I haven't owned a bathing suit in over a decade. The most exciting thing thus far happened a short while ago, when I nearly choked on an errant piece of proscuitto. I don't even particularly like cured meats, so I'd have died for no reason.

What have I accomplished? I finally found a well-priced, realistic looking fake ficus tree for my living room. This has been harder than one might think. Some people think they're tacky, but damn it, twinkle lights make me happy. I've seen a few movies, gone out for dinner, spent the day with my mom (she bought me lunch and a much nicer container for said ficus), and played in a bocce tournament. Played badly, but won for best costume. And really - it's not how close you are to the pallino, it's how you look that counts.

So why do I feel like a vacation failure? I used to take vacations that involved museums, and new experiences, and a crying fit in the middle of Charles de Gaulle (another time...) But right now, I have neither the finances nor the energy to do anything more taxing than string lights on a fake ficus and hang pictures in my office. But I've also shared many laughs with friends, seen a great documentary, spent lovely evenings on my back deck, drink in one hand, book in the other, (hungry cat occasionally screeching her dinner bell wail through the screen door) and visited my cousin's tiny baby girls in the hospital. So even though I haven't "accomplished" much, I need to remember I've experienced alot (except for the lots of sex part), and that should be enough. My passport can always wait until next time. I'll just avoid the proscuitto so that there is a next time.