This past weekend was the longest and most luxurious I've had in almost two years, a five-day moratorium on work which rejuvenated and refreshed me beyond words.

Except for a few three-day weekends visiting my spectacular girlfriend in Rochester and a four-day adventure to Canada last fall, it had been a solid 13 months since I last took a "real" vacation. Although working for a newspaper isn't nearly as strenuous as working in a coal mine or a sweatshop, like all jobs, it takes a toll, and this was the kind of reprieve from life one needs every so often.

Not that I took an ocean cruise to some exotic island getaway or spent the weekend partying myself into oblivion during a booze-fueled bender.

Far from it. In fact, most of the time I barely left my sleepy apartment in Milford, venturing as far as Oneonta only twice and spending most of my time curled up with a thick book.

No, this weekend was about relaxing and about catching up a little on a life that seems to be speeding up a little more each day.

Like any good vacation, this one started with a hefty dose of sleep. I went to bed fairly early Wednesday night with absolutely nothing scheduled for the next five days, except for a quick stop for a photo Thursday night. Other than that, I was free to do as I pleased. For the most part.

Knowing how easy it would be to throw the vacation away playing video games, eating junk food and watching the boob tube, I set out late Thursday morning to add a bit of structure to the weekend by making a "to do" list.

But not just a basic "to do" list dealing with the daily chores and monthly hassles we all work through, but one including everything: the "To Do List," a capitalized monstrosity listing everything I really should do in the immediate future and all the shortcomings I wanted to correct for the long-term.

I racked my brains and came up with a list of 24 things I could or should do in the perpetual quest to better my life. Most were fairly straightforward commands, like "do dishes" and "do laundry," two items I inevitably avoid until they're mountainous tasks requiring hours of effort. I also threw on a few things on that I'd been meaning to do forever, like "buy bowling ball" and "disable DVD player parental lock," two tasks that have been lost in the shuffle for years and years.

Then there were a few fantasy items I threw on, filed under the wishful thinking category. Everything on the list was optional, but these were things I knew I never would do, like "clean microwave" and "scrub fridge."

Long, dull story short, I didn't even finish a single item on the list until Friday afternoon. Too busy taking it easy.

I did manage, however, by Monday evening to have knocked off 15 items on a list that had grown to 39, including 12 of the original 24 items gracing the list. Even got my own bowling ball drilled.

I hold no illusions about this weekend. Nothing I did really solved any long-term issues or resulted in any long-term victories. Didn't even think about the many problems going on in the world or how to resolve them. And while some people would berate themselves for not conquering more of their lists, I'm not too upset. I was on vacation after all.

Which I think is what we all need, a big vacation. Let's all quit bickering about Red or Blue, Muslim or Jew and just take it easy for a week. Every year from now until forever, let's all take a week together to quit bombing one another and stop worrying about how much money we're making for our corporate overlords. Let's just take a week together to relax and spend time with loved ones.

Sadly, that won't happen. Sadder still, it's time to end this pleasant reverie.

Vacation's over and it's time to get back to work.