Family Tradition

Working in a student services area of higher education as I have my entire professional career, I have been used to the cyclic nature of my job. After a long, hard summer and the start of the new school year, I have often opted to take some vacation time at the Labor Day holiday.

Beginning in the 1990's, the trip of choice was often an annual family fishing trip which gave me an opportunity to spend some quality time with my father-in-law and connect with uncles, cousins and other relatives on my wife's side of the family. Even after my father-in-law passed away, the tradition continued. I once wrote a post about the day I caught the biggest fish I've ever caught, which happened on a historic day. However, one year I didn't go on the trip -- maybe even a last-minute cancellation -- and never went on another one.

In 2000, my brother, thundering36, moved back to the USA from Australia, and, especially with his birthday being around Labor Day, the tradition of the Labor Day trip to Las Vegas began. It included some significant trips, like the one in 2008 when I was in Las Vegas when the house I had for sale closed. Or there was the trip that wasn't taken in 2012 when both thundering36 and I got sick the morning of the trip and decided to delay it until December. Unfortunately, our plan to celebrate thundering36's birthday at Gordon Ramsay's Steak that trip was scuttled. However, we were finally able to have that celebration dinner at Steak in 2016, a rare trip when I was accompanied on part of the trip by Mrs. lightning36.

I was wondering if I should take the trip this year, seeing that I had already been to Las Vegas in January, June and July. On top of that, an opportunity arose to visit my son in Seattle at the end of September. I almost canceled the Labor Day trip, but ... what the heck, you only live once, right?

I make my drive to Chicago in seven hours, yet haven't packed yet, as is my usual procedure. I certainly hope the poker will be much better this trip than the last. And if you are in Las Vegas the next few days, Cash Me Outside - How Bow Dah?