Chol Hamoed again. Vacation time. Or rather work again. I give up. I have been waiting patiently for nearly six months to gain some well deserved vacation, and it all ended taking my family for a trip. You must know what I mean. You must have had a similar experience.

It all started the last summer. I saw my neighbor leaving for Las Vegas. Then my best friend to the Dominican. Stuttering, I suggested something similar to my wife. You can guess the answer. What about the kids? Said I, what about the kids? Said she, where would you place them? And besides, what about a minyan, kosher food etc? And for heaven’s sake, what about a mikva???

Besides for reminding me that we had precisely the same argument a year ago, I realized that there’s a valid point in there. No. Not that the kids should hop along. That would make sense only if I had enough quality time to spend with my wife, so that I can reliably claim her to be satisfied. Being that we are both employed and busy, and the spare time is ALL about the kids, a vacation FROM the kids becomes a necessity rather than luxury.

The validity of my wife’s argument rests rather on the difficulty of finding a place to vacation where we can truly enjoy ourselves, AND have all our heimishe amenities nearby, for an affordable rate.