Oh yeah.

[kv0925]

While I was at Animal Kingdom with the girls, we were walking across the bridge from Asia to Dinoland (which is a beautiful spot, by the way), and there was a man walking at a fast clip in the other direction, a few steps ahead of his wife, who was pushing a stroller with a kid or two on board. They were apparently in the midst of a semi-heated conversation, and he half-turns while he's walking, and says, rather bitterly: "Well, you know how *I* feel; I'd rather be at work! I'm sorry!" And to be clear, that's one of those "just deal with it" types of "I'm sorry," not any sort of actual apology.

And I was just like, wow. In my mind I imagined a scenario where I pulled the guy aside and asked him to take a moment and mentally project himself onto his deathbed, and ask himself if he thinks he'd be wishing at that point that he'd spent more time working and less with his family. It's one of those conclusions I guess I take for granted, but maybe that's just because I've actually thought about it, you know? I imagine for a guy like that, who has no notion of how swiftly his time is passing, no appreciation for the moments going by that will never return--maybe for a guy like that, life really is all about getting to the next practical triumph, and any time spent not chasing the next brass ring is time wasted.

It's a damn shame, though. And not just for him, you know? People. Sheesh.

Comments

[girlguitarist.livejournal.com]

I think vacations bring out the worst in some families. I've seen so much crap like that at Disneyland. Hello, you are at DISNEYLAND. Suck up your stupid petty problems and have fun. Some people don't get to spend that time with their families because they can't afford the breaks.

PEOPLE!

[cp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I always see plenty of kids who clearly aren't aware they're at the Happiest Place On Earth. But adults should know better, and at least be able to fake having a good time, you know? I had a job for a while piloting the boats that run between the hotels and CityWalk at Universal Orlando, back in the days when BlackBerry phones were just coming onto the scene. And I'd always see these guys on my boat who were supposedly on vacation, yet they were tuning out their family and staring at their BlackBerry instead. And I was like, sheesh, do you even know what being on vacation means? And I promised myself I wouldn't ever be That Guy. So far so good, I hope. :)

[fiberguyr1.livejournal.com]

The last time we were at Disney, we saw something similar while having lunch or dinner in the castle. Except this one was the mom that was being a complete and total biatch. It got so bad at one point, that I wanted to tell the guy to run.

[cp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there's always someone, I guess. I was just amazed that the guy said that. Not that he'd rather be at the hotel or home, but that he'd rather be at WORK--away from his family. Way to not just miss the point of a family vacation, but to actively take that idea and stomp it into the mud, you know?

[girlspell.livejournal.com]

Any vacation is stressful because getting there is such a pain. With small kids, driving to place that is miles away. We have an ocean resort in Maryland (Ocean City) Gorgeous beaches and pristine water (it was voted the no 1 clean beach in the U.S. mainland) But it's miles away in horrendous traffic. A vacation is supposed to be an escape. But it's not, because you live so far away from it. You depend on a car to get there (no other way) and you in a foul move by the time you arrive.

[cp.livejournal.com]

That's a valid point--for us it's a 30-minute drive, and we know we can head home whenever we're ready, so there's no stress of travel in the equation. Still, if someone can't get past the stress of traveling and manage to actually unwind and have a vacation, I'm not sure they should bother with that particular vacation, you know? I guess Disney World is sort of obligatory at least once for many families with kids, and maybe he was "taking one for the team" by even being there. But still. He didn't say he'd rather be back at the hotel, or even back at home, but that he'd rather be at work, away from his family. That just seemed mean to me.

[cinnamonbite.livejournal.com]

Well, adults think a vacation is a beach and a drink. He knows he's spending all his savings on a vacation for the kids at Disney, getting nothing out of it, having a shit time and this is no vacation. He'd rather be at work.

[cp.livejournal.com]

All true, but it doesn't make him any less of an asshole for actually SAYING so to his wife and kids. In my estimation, anyway. Sometimes you just smile and nod and pretend there's nowhere else you'd rather be. Or maybe they're used to him being an ass and he knows it. :)

[cinnamonbite.livejournal.com]

LOL

[loxthebox.livejournal.com]

Wow.... He'd seriously rather be at work than spending time with his family? Probably shouldn't have gotten married then.

[cp.livejournal.com]

I should give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe I just happened to hear the 5 worst seconds of his life or something. But he didn't just say he'd rather be at the hotel, or home--he said at WORK, which to me means away from his family. That's just mean, no matter how rough a time they were having. At Disney World. :)

[cinnamonbite.livejournal.com]

You know, a lot of people LOVE their job and spend as much time there as possible. They think family is something they HAVE to do but they don't enjoy it.
And honestly, crowded fucking Disney with long lines and squalling brats? If the wife wanted a nice vacation, she should have let the guy stay in the hotel bar or with his laptop in the room.
Or maybe she's making unreasonable demands on him. Again. She could be the bitch, you didn't get to hear what drove him to that point.