More vacation, anyone?

Ah, Fall. The kids have returned to school (has it been even 10 minutes since I mentioned how thrilled I am that they're out of my hair? Um...I mean that they're once again immersed in the beauty of learning, naturally!) Weekends (and various weeknights) are once more devoted to sports pursuits (watching Penn State football for the boys, competitive soccer playing and spectating for all of us, and counting the days until next April for beleaguered O's fans who have no playoffs to look forward to...for the 13th unlucky year in a row.) The days have begun to turn crisper (is that even a word? makes it sound like we're a bunch of celery stuck in a drawer in the fridge), and the nights can be downright chilly (in a pleasant, "wouldn't a pumpkin-spice latte taste good right about now" way). And, apparently, some of us still feel the Vacation Vibe so strongly that they're channeling Carnival Cruise Lines.

It started when my littlest Cabin Boy (that would be Riley) came into my room the other morning and said, "Mom, you know how all the decks on the ship had names? What should we call this floor of the house?" Oookaaay, I'll play along..."How about the Riviera Deck, since that was where we slept on the boat?" (And really, who wouldn't want their sleeping quarters named after a beautiful beach in France? I can almost hear the waves...) But he wasn't finished--"I'm going to go make a sign for my door, with my Cabin Number on it!" (By now I was feeling a glimmer of regret at encouraging this daydream--he'd better not expect me to fold towel animals for him...or leave a chocolate mint on his pillow every night...or deliver free room service!) From there, we decided that the basement, where the pingpong and air hockey tables reside, would henceforth be known as the Promenade Deck (corresponding to the "fun and games area" on the Carnival Pride). The entrance level of the house--with the kitchen and living room--was dubbed the Lido Deck, since our favorite restaurant and activities were found there on our cruise (and obviously, every ship must have a Lido Deck...we all learned that from the Love Boat, right? Sadly, mine does NOT come equipped with a smart-alecky-but-sensitive Isaac the Bartender.)

I will admit we all got waaay too caught up in this little fantasy...so much so that I was a bit surprised, and a LOT disappointed, when I looked out my window and saw grass, rather than the Ocean Blue. Even worse, a multi-course, scrumptious meal did not appear before me when the boys started clamoring for lunch. And the final bummer: no matter how hard we collectively wished it, our house did not appear to be moving any closer to a Caribbean island. Rats! How long until next summer vacation? I need to pull up a chair and a cold drink, and do some (very, VERY) advance trip-planning...on the Lido Deck...