Meryl's Notes Blog

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New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston

Quick recap: I hadn’t taken a real vacation in nine years (awful, I know) when I received an invitation to a family event in Nashua, New Hampshire. In researching the travel, it turned out the best deal was to fly to Boston’s Logan airport and take a shuttle to Nashua. Well, if I’m gonna head that way, I might as well leave a couple of days early and see Boston for the first time.

Perfect vacation. Just miss three days of work and the trip lasted five days. Not too long to fall behind. Not too short that I feel rushed. Discover a new city while catching up with family I hadn’t seen in years.

The bar that was the inspiration for the TV show Cheers

I debated whether to take my laptop because I could access email on the BlackBerry. Hubby advised me to take the laptop. The Boston hotel charged a flat fee for an Internet connection for 24 hours. Nashua had free Internet.

Mom and I landed in Boston greeted with a misty rain and cooler temperatures. We caught a cab to take us to the hotel. The ride had a few tunnels. So I’d glance at my BlackBerry even though the connection broke while in the tunnels. Natural light returned. “Meryl, stop looking at your BlackBerry. Look at Boston!” Mom said.

I had been. She just caught me when I was looking down. I took the time to be aware of my surroundings and just absorb Boston into my skin and memories. I noticed the amazing buildings, old and new. The architecture captivated me that I wished I had a better eye for taking pictures so I could capture the landscapes. I knew about the rule of thirds, getting close ups and all. The photos turned out average as usual. I tried.

Anyway, one of the things that stresses me about a vacation is falling behind and playing catch up. Yes, the return home turned out to be a difficult one for about a week before my life returned to normal. It was worth it, but I’ll pass on another vacation for a little while — maybe not nine years.

How to Enjoy a Vacation without Worrying about Work from a Worrywart

1. Be aware. Take in the moment. Study your surroundings. Talk to yourself in your head. Mine went something like this: “Wow. The New England Holocaust Memorial beautifully captures the six million Jews killed with one pylon for each million. Look at all those names adorning all four sides of the pylon from top to bottom in small print. Imagine one million names in a single pylon. Notice the concentration camp names on the ground and the chambers where steam rises from the charred embers at the bottom, such an appropriate way to remember those who perished at the Nazi death camps.”
2. Take pictures. I get shy about asking friends and family to pose for pictures, but I made an effort. Unfortunately, some turned out blurry. At least, I have a nice album of my trip. I ordered prints from a photo service that lets you enter captions and it prints them on the back.
3. Write about the trip. I have been keeping a journal since 1989 to chronicle my life. When I couldn’t remember something, I can find the answer in my journal. Whenever I had the opportunity, I captured all I could.
4. Check emails. For me, it was a way to minimize the return home insanity. I deleted newsletters and responded to easy to answer emails. This lessened the pain of returning back to my regularly scheduled week.
5. Avoid too much planning. I also avoided making too many plans as I didn’t want to stress out over trying to stick to the schedule and do it all. The only official plan we had in Boston was meeting with my mom’s first cousin who lived in the area. She took us to John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, a place we couldn’t get to by walking. We also had lunch on Hanover Street, known for Italian restaurants, and dinner at a nice restaurant where we met another first cousin. Before leaving Texas, I studied Boston and the places I could walk to from my hotel. I managed to hit all the highlights in two days including Boston Common, a touch of the Freedom Trail, the inspiration for Cheers, Quincy Market, Faneuil Hall and a few other places.
6. Relax! Since I wrapped all loose ends and notified clients of my upcoming trip, I didn’t have to worry about work. Not much email came in while I was gone. Thank you, dear clients.

I didn’t see everything in Boston, but I think I did well for two days and walking most of it. What do you know? Boston University is one of the colleges on my daughter’s list. So who knows? I could become a seasonal visitor there. I’d love to visit Boston again, but I’d like to visit some other cities first that I’ve never seen like San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle.

How do you make the most of a vacation?

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