I am looking forward to our vacation this year. We have the privilege to go away to our beloved Cape Cod. And I do recognize that it is a privilege. Not everyone gets to go on a vacation.

The thing that I love about going away is the preparation and anticipation of a time when things are not part of our normal routine. We have time to sleep in, to have uninterrupted conversations, to spend time as a family, to have time to think and to dream.

The only thing is that in my preparation I almost always overestimate the amount of time we have away. Just like I overestimate a room's dimensions in my mind's eye especially in planning furniture arrangement, I think that we will have loads of time to bike, play tennis, go to the beach, kayak, canoe, stroll down town, attend a local play, go out to dinner, watch the stars on our lovely deck, sightsee in Boston or a neighboring town, visit one of the Islands, read the dozen or so packed books, mentally prepare for the fall and its activities. Phew! Just listing all the things that I think we might accomplish is exhausting and goes to show that I need a restful vacation with no agenda.

So, I have decided to just let the vacation unfold as it will. Sure, we have our bags packed with our books, tennis rackets, bike and beach gear but there is no pressure if we don't use all of it. I am giving myself permission to have a complete break if I want. The important thing is that I am going to try and be mindful and enjoy each moment.

While the preparation and anticipation is fun for me, the real joy comes with the actuality of the life lived focused on the present.

What about you? Do you have vacation plans this year? What types of vacation do you take? Are you good at just chilling out or do you have a hard time turning off the "to do" list? How can you focus on the present, whether that is during a vacation or your normal week?