Someday we'll go on a real vacation

SHERYL AND I are planning a Lake Michigan getaway. It will have to take place over three days. It takes a day to get up there and a day to get back. I wish I could take a week and find a beach and do nothing for five days, but it doesn't work like that anymore.

It's the joy and frustration of running your own small retail business. We have an excellent part-time employer, Steve Rees, who has helped us out on numerous occasions and can work flexible day hours. But the simple reality is that we can't leave for more than a day or two, and we can't just close the store because we need a break.

It's OK. Quality time, not quantity. We'll make the best of it and soak in as much as we can, and be better off for it when we get back.