Recently, my brother wrote about the worst day of the year: (link no longer available, my apologies).  Today, though, was the best day of the year: the first day of vacation.  I love my job, don’t get me wrong, but even so there’s something about the first day of vacation that just can’t be beat.

So, on this first vacation in a year, there was absolutely no way that I was going to clean the house, no matter how badly it needs it.  Instead, I cashed in two of my tutoring checks and went shopping.  Yup, I actually had cash in my pocket, and I fully intended to use it.  Jewelry seemed like a good bet, but I was open to other options.  I ambled through some of my favorite stores in Concord center – Perceptions, Artful Image, Lacoste Gallery, Concord Hand Designs, the Concord Shop, the American Indian gift store, and the store that sells cool furniture and odds and ends for your home (next to Salone Arte).  I saw so many pretty things, and was almost tempted many times.  But I kept thinking to myself, “I’ve already got a beautiful glass pitcher.  I don’t need another,” or, “I could live without that pair of earrings,” or, “the house is just too small for another set of candlesticks.”  I was trying hard, but nothing could prompt me to pull that cash out of my pocket.

I couldn’t have imagined this a year ago, when I was miserable in my job and life seemed a tad difficult, but I’m happy.  I don’t need to buy things.  Not even that great Steiff bear in the Toy Shop window.

My husband had left me off in Concord center while he dropped off his amps and equipment for a gig tomorrow, and we set our meeting place as the Concord Bookshop.  So I gave up on shopping and went to the book store to wait for my ride.  Jim was late, and I wandered the aisles looking at books.  Jodi Picoult, my friend Judy told me she’s really great, maybe I should buy that.  Hmmm, no, I can borrow that from the library.  Kira-Kira?  Judy recommended that, too.  Nah, there’s a fresh new copy at the library.  A blank book?  Got plenty.

And then I was in the young adult section.  The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak.  The dollars practically leaped out of my pocket.  I’ve been wanting to read this book for SO long, but haven’t wanted to take our library’s copy out of commission (and it just doesn’t seem fair to borrow another library’s copy).  This book has gotten phenomenal reviews, and its premise is totally unique: Death narrates the story of Liesel, a girl in Nazi Germany who steals books.
The Book Thief now lives on my coffee table, and so far I absolutely love it.  I also picked up a paperback copy of The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, for the same reasons that I bought Zusak’s book.  I may have lost my ability to spend money on frivolous things, but certain books can still make my heart beat a little faster.  And no, I have no idea what the meaning is behind the thievery theme in these two books.  I just know that, because of them, the rest of my vacation is going to be as good as today was.