I’ve been on vacation from work all week. It’s rare that I find the time to be alone. This week I thought about . . .

It's been all about packing, packing, packing (and laundering, too) at Chez Professor Mom's lately. If you were to walk through our front door you would find piles of bags, several milk crates filled with stuffed animals and books, a collection of assorted buckets and shovels, a bin of dog food, a beach umbrella, and a box of kitchen supplies, and an electric griddle.

Why, you might ask?

It's Memorial Day weekend, and with it comes the unofficial start of summer. Maybe you've squared away your family vacation already, but if not, here are some tips to plan some fun, budget-friendly getaways.

 Fresh off of two weeks vacation, I woke up looking forward to going back to work. As much as I love sleeping in, eating cookies for breakfast, and generally just being lazy, I was looking forward to getting back into a regular schedule. However, I don't think this morning could have gone any worse.

At 9:20 in the morning yesterday, the traffic to get out of offices and into the long weekend had already started. I could gaze out my office window and see a line of cars stacked bumper-to-bumper on their way north to Napa Valley, Sonoma, the Redwoods…or, perhaps even for most, just home. As they inched past an outdoor furniture store, they were greeted by a sign declaring, “Your Staycation Headquarters!” As has been detailed (to death!) in the press, because of these trying economic times, the family vacation has been replaced by time spent together…at home.