THE VACATION; A CAUTIONARY TALE

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The Vacation

Danielle was completely drained and living a workaholic nightmare!

Her underlings had been let go as a “cost-cutting measure” and she was the only one left.  
That’s too much responsibility for one person.

Welcome to Corporate Hell!

She desperately needed help.  Working 60 hours a week was becoming the norm and her personal life, practically non-existent.  

Thankfully, her husband, Mario, was understanding and often drove Danielle to the office on the way to his weekly Sunday soccer game.  How pathetic!  The rest of the world is enjoying life, and she’s drowning in a sea of paperwork.

Time for a vacation! 

Grabbing her desk calendar, she started rifling through the pages.  Her husband’s employer would have the yearly maintenance shutdown next month, so that was ideal.  

Sadly, they rarely went anywhere because of her job.  Mario hung out with his friends, and she went to work.  Yup, absolutely pitiful.  Time to let loose and get wild!

circle the calendar

Leave your cares behind! 

Although she was entitled to four weeks’ vacation (at least seniority was good for something),  Danielle’s boss vetoed the idea of her taking more than two weeks off in a row.  

He said her job was “too important” to be away that long.  Well damn!  It would take two weeks just to deprogram, never mind recuperate, but it was better than nothing.

So, the big question was, where should they go?  Mario was not one to express preferences; whatever Danielle liked was okay with him. She always found this frustrating, thinking he may have wanted something different, but wouldn’t say.

They both enjoyed spontaneous road trips.  Just pick a direction, map out a few possible stops along the way and get in the car.  She handed him a coin.   Heads for west, tails for east.  West it was!

road map and keys

The last day at work was hectic, but Danielle managed to tidy her desk by the end.  She regarded the empty surface ruefully, knowing full well that catching up afterwards would be horrendous.  It didn’t matter anymore; time to get a life!  Big smile on her face as she waved goodbye.

The next morning, Mario loaded up the car as Danielle finished dressing.  They were both eager to hit the road; to experience that sense of freedom!

Getting into the car, she gave his arm a playful squeeze and said:  “Remind me to send my mother a postcard.  She loves to get mail”.

road trip

They hit the asphalt, radio tuned to their favourite station.

Ah, this was the life!  

Exploring back roads was part of the fun.  No traffic for miles, and Danielle started to relax. “I need to take time off more often,” she thought. Suddenly, a large, out of control van came careening at them and didn’t stop.  The impact of the head-on collision shattered the stillness…

There would be no more vacations for Danielle and Mario!

wrecked car

Blood, Boobs and Carnage Blogfest, The Doglady's Den

Although the characters’ names and the car crash are fictional,
the general circumstances were taken from my life during the late 1980s.

Here’s some irony! The so-called “important job”  was easily eliminated a couple of years later.

On their deathbed, nobody ever regretted not spending more time at the office!

What do you think about this?

Carpe Diem

Debbie signature style 5

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Summer Re-Run SeriesThis story won a “WRITE TRIBE” contest in Jul. 2013, using the specified words: 
postcard, coin, tidy, wild, help, calendar, responsibility.

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111 thoughts on “THE VACATION; A CAUTIONARY TALE

  1. I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I’m trying to catch up on emails and posts, which should take me quite a while. Your story is very well written.
    Love,
    Janie

  2. Well done, Debbie! I never saw the end coming, but then in life we rarely do. A powerful reminder to stop and smell the roses while they’re still in bloom.

  3. Working too much is a waste of life! We need to enjoy our life along with the work we do. I felt sad for Danielle and Mario! A story with a valuable message. 🙂

  4. After such an encouraging start the conclusion came as something of a shock. I had one job that took up all of every day and many nights too – running a village pub and I loved every minute of it!

    1. Running a pub sounds like a lot more fun than my previous corporate slavedom. When it’s your own business, you do it with love. 🙂 Thanks for reading my story, Keith!

  5. Debbie,

    Oh how sad, no more vacation, no more Daniella & Mario, no more nothing! Life is too short. Working like a dog, pardon the pun, leads to health issues and no burn out. A workaholic, working for someone other than his/her self has limitations and the employer is never fully appreciated or rewarded for the hard effort the individual puts in to his/her job. We wanted to take a vacation before all of this Covid-19 stuff blew in and while things have improved, there people are still getting sick and businesses aren’t fully open, so we will wait until next year to try to take a ‘real vacation’. It’ll be one definitely worth it, not only because of the craziness but because our vacations are decades apart. Our last one was in 2004. That sounds horrible but we compensate with many day trips to places within a short drive and that works beautifully for us. Enjoy yourselves, this summer is really fleeting by!!

    1. In hindsight, I wasted a lot of years, but that was the corporate culture in the 80s. 😛 A “real” vacation sounds wonderful and definitely worth the wait. Our little excursion next week is just a short respite from the daily norm. A change of scenery is good for what ails. 🙂 (Like your day trips.) Thanks for coming by, Cathy!

    1. Driving defensively is good advice. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed the story. We are getting out of town for a few days next week, to shake the lockdown blues. (And we will be vigilant on the road.) Hopefully, by October, things will lhave calmed down and you can have a worry-free trip. Cheers!

  6. Oh my. I didn’t see that coming. I was waiting for the fun and relaxation. Well done, Debbie. You had me hanging on very word.

    Have a fabulous day and week. Big hug. ♥

    1. Thank you, Sandee! ? The ending was fiction, but the rest came from my actual life. Looking back, I can’t help thinking, “what a waste!”

  7. Gosh! I thought they were gonna have the time of their lives.
    Heart-breaking.

    Such a well crafted tale. Time is indeed precious and we got to make the most of it.

    1. I needed a stark ending to make the point. 🙂 Thanks for reading my story, Natasha. Fortunately, things weren’t quite as dire in reality.

    1. You may be right about that, Damyanti. Or, people will eventually forget and go back to their skewed priorities. Thanks for reading my story! 🙂

  8. It’s a sad thing that we are often used and abused by our employers and job – I’m glad you’re still with us and making me smile!

    1. Hi Carol! 🙂 Those workaholic days are behind me, and I don’t miss them. In hindsight, I wasted a good chunk of my life. Trying to make up for it now, but the pandemic is messing with that. 😛 Thanks for coming by!

  9. Glad it was a fictional story. Many folks do not know how to relax and enjoy life. Their job is their life. Not me. I retired at 62 and have never regretted giving up a great salary and the ability to control my work schedule. There is another life away from the office. Retirement is something my father never lived long enough to enjoy. I am taking advantage of the time I have left here. Even if right now it means staying indoors on my computer, lol.

    1. Hi Denise! The ending was fictional, but the rest was my actual, workaholic life in the 1980s. When I got “downsized,” in the 1992 recession, it wreaked havoc on our lives, but ultimately, it led me to a kind of rebirth. I’m glad you’re enjoying your retirement, such as it is, these days. 🙂 Thanks for coming by!

  10. I’ve truly never been a work-a-holic. I get my time in and take off. I don’t let it fret me either. As Dolly Parton once sang, I’m spending all my time putting money in ‘their’ pockets. Even if I go home and do nothing, I’m comfortable with that. But fortunately, I have other pursuits, writing, photography and the such. But I do know work-a-holics. Usually these are the people who have hard-core invested interest in the office. Outside of that, I’ve never understood being a work-a-holic. Glad the car-crash was fictional. That ending certainly came on quick and without warning. Much like a true life auto accident (as I’ve been in a few).

    1. That’s the best attitude, Jeffrey and wish I could have been more like that. As it was, I suffered a bad case of burnout and was actually relieved to get out, in the end. Yes, good thing the crash is fictional, but I’m betting this might have happened to someone, somewhere.

  11. Ouch! Yeah, I can’t imagine thinking “gee, I wish I’d spent more time at the office.” I’m more of the “so many mountains, so little time,” sort, and we’ll be retiring soon to maximize our exploration of the world.

    1. I’m so sorry for your loss, C. Lee. 🙁 Yes, life is short and we never know what will happen tomorrow. Thanks for dropping in. Sincere condolences.

  12. Hi Debbie,

    Unfortunately, you hear about this type of thing a lot. It’s sad that many take life for granted and don’t say how they feel when they feel it. Life is way too short to have regrets. Live for today. Great story.

    Have a great weekend!

    B

    1. Glad to know you are enjoying life to the fullest, Mary Lou. 🙂 Work is overrated, in my opinion, too. Although we are still plugging away at it, my husband and I make a concerted effort to enjoy a more hedonistic lifestyle.

  13. I used to work horrendous hours at my job. Most of the time I loved it, but there were definitely times I needed a holiday. Fortunately, going on holiday was encouraged where I worked so I definitely got breaks when needed.

    1. Sounds like your employer was more attuned to the needs of the staff. The standards where I worked were impossible to maintain after the recession hit and so many were let go.

  14. That was such a horrendous end! This story reminds of one of the video of my favorite tracks, “I could be the one,” by Avicii. It’s almost on the same lines but instead of a couple its a woman who decides to chuck her corporate job and enjoy life, just to get hit by a vehicle as she steps out of the office. Such is life, we think we have the time but we don’t. Thanks for reminding me to keep that in mind, Debbi.

  15. I’ve often worked long hard hours, but I’ve been happy in my work and the time spent didn’t seem to matter since I liked what I was doing. The story you told is a tragic one, but one of those mysterious ironies of life that seems to come to some people. Very sad really.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

    1. It’s all about balance, in my opinion. If you’re self-employed and/or love what you’re doing that’s one thing. When it starts to feel like you’re missing out on life and serving a jail sentence, then it’s time to reassess. That’s where I was at, at the time.

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  17. Ah yes. ..the priorities that need to be set right. Interesting post,Debbie. Like how you used a combination of fiction and fact to make a factional tale with important take aways.

    1. Glad you enjoyed the post, Sid. I’m better at memoir than fiction, so this was a good compromise for me. 🙂 Thanks for reading!

  18. Or, as some would say, a permanent vacation for the two!
    I wonder if the sudden death would lead them to turn into ghosts though…

    1. Ghosts? There is a classic movie called “Topper” in which that is exactly what happened. 🙂 “Beetlejuice” is another one. Popular theme! Thanks for visiting.

  19. That ending was totally unexpected!
    A couple of years ago, even my job required me to spend really long hours at work. You couldn’t even talk about taking a day or two off. Glad I quit that job!!

  20. Congragulations!!!!! Am atleast glad that they got to die together… iamgine being the one left behind….

  21. Congratulations on the win.

    Your story is indeed touching. I am afraid I am almost turning into Danielle. I need to lighten up 🙂

    1. I WAS Danielle! Glad my story made you realize that too, Ava. 🙂 What a lovely surprise to win the contest. All of the other entries were excellent. Thanks for dropping by.

  22. The ending was very tragic. It just goes to show that we need to live in the moment and take time to enjoy every minute of our lives. We can never say about the future. Congrats Debbie !

    1. That’s it, exactly, Cynthia! 😀 Work is not everything in life. We must make the most of it before it’s too late. Thanks for visiting.

  23. Tragic, but a valuable lesson to be learned from such a story! Congratulations on winning the Write Tribe contest!

    1. Glad you liked my entry, Corinne. 🙂 I really enjoyed the challenge of using specific words in a story and would definitely try it again.

  24. I’m so sorry Debbie that you drew from that story of an experience that happened in your life.

    You know I preach about this all the time myself that life is too short so enjoy it today because tomorrow isn’t promised. I wish more people would listen because at the end of their lives they’ll regret not having done more. So sad!

    ~Adrienne

    1. Hi Adrienne; Yes, at one time I was mired in a hellish workaholic scenario and am so glad to be out of that now. The older I get, the more I realize life should be enjoyed and not wasted on things that won’t matter in the end. Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend. 🙂

    1. The ending was shocking, but does illustrate that life is short and we shouldn’t waste it. Thanks for visiting, Vidya. 🙂

  25. HI…that was excellent…yes it is very easy to get engrossed in work…Balance is key.. and most forgotten..wish Danielle got the holiday and had many more in her life…

    All the best.

  26. There would be no more vacations for Danielle and Mario.

    A chilling end. I like how the pace of the story hurtled and then came to a crashing stop.

    1. Thanks Damyanti! I wrote the ending for shock value. We never know what’s going to happen in life, so, we should make the most of it while we can. 🙂

    1. Yes, I wrote that ending for shock value. Enjoy life while you can, because you never know what might happen. Thanks For visiting Shilpa. 🙂

  27. Live for today, don’t bury yourself in work, make sure you have ‘me’ & ‘us’ time or else you’ll may find yourself ‘buried’ before you’ve had a taste of what life has to offer. That’s what came through in your dark tale, Debbie, well told my friend. xxx

    1. Spot on, Penny! Thanks so much for visiting. Apologies that I have been slack in this area lately, but, I’ll be dropping by to get caught up with you soon. Have a great week. 🙂

  28. How true that is. I can remember my father expressing those sentiments after my mothers passing. He so regretted all the extra time he devoted to his career rather than family.

    I’m thankful that I was able to stay home and be a full time parent. Guess that would be my chosen career. : )

    1. I think many people, (including me in those days), lose sight of what’s really important in life. The older I get, the more I subscribe to the “life is short, do it now” mantra. Your kids were so lucky, Linda to have a full time Mom at home. Thanks for visiting and have a good weekend. 🙂

      1. I am pretty sure kids appreciate it now, not so sure they did then though….that’s so true about getting older and realizing time is getting shorter and shorter, so we need to do those things now…

        Thanks for sharing so I could visit…. :))

  29. What an awful ending! Good luck with the contest. Unfortunately, this is the way of the world, ie., cut positions so that those left have double the work, yet expect higher productivity. I don’t get to travel nearly enough these days. Seeing what happened, maybe that’s a good thing.

    1. Hi Joyce; I know it’s a bad end, but I wrote that for shock value, to drive home the point that one never knows what’s going to happen in life, so we should “go for the gusto” before it’s too late. People die every day, but, that shouldn’t deter anyone from doing what they want to do. Thanks for visiting and have a good weekend. 🙂

  30. The ending shocked me a bit but your point about not making work your life is very well portrayed.
    Dropping by from the write tribe contest.

    1. I did write the ending for shock value, to drive home the point that you never know what might happen in life, so, “go for the gusto” whenever possible. Thanks for visiting Suzy. 🙂

  31. Hi Debbie

    Although fictional as you say, but it is also very real.

    I am glad they laid me off, the money was tighter because of it and there is no vacations now. But I know the stress of taking any time off, for the issues I would comeback to. Not any fun the last few years I was there. But it is sad how much of ourselves we give away to someone else for them to make a tremendous amount of money.

    Also knowing that one thing can change everything. Like to stay home on the holidays for that reason (being the 4th today).

    Mary

    1. Your past situation sounds very similar to mine, Mary The accident and character’s names are fictional, but the rest is an accurate portrayal of my life in the late ’80s. When my job disappeared too, it was somewhat of a relief as I was suffering from severe burnout. “It is sad how much of ourselves we give away to someone else for them to make a tremendous amount of money.” Spot on! Thanks for visiting and Happy 4th of July to you. 🙂

  32. Whoa! If you want to look at it optimistically, at least she won’t have to worry about her desk being somewhat overloaded when she gets back to it…Makes you almost not want to ever go on a vacation… :3

    1. Haha! There is that, Mary, but I was trying to drive the point home that we shouldn’t make work our entire focus. Balance is the key to happiness, yes? Thanks for dropping by and Happy 4th of July to you! 🙂

  33. Awww…that was very sad for Danielle and Mario. Never felt that such a healthy beginning will end up in a tragedy. Felt sad. Realistically written. Good Job.

    1. Sad for them and a good lesson for us all. Life is short; make the most of it, yes? Thanks for visiting Sreedev. I enjoyed your story as well. Good luck!