I've Turned into THAT Girl

Once upon a time I lived in England, land of 28 vacation days and 8 public holidays. When I say 28 vacation days that is the minimum number of vacation days that employers are required by law to provide to employees. My friends on that side of the pond used to question me on the number of vacation days provided in the US, generally over pints at the pub. When I revealed that there is no legal minimum number of vacation days in the US, responses varied from "Oh, that's awful!" to "That's horrid!" and "Oh, how inhumane!" I would have thought I had said workers are required to wear day glo lime green suits from the 1970s or something equally appalling.

I promised myself, flying West bound back to the States after my time in London, that I would not! not! not! become one of those Americans who doesn't even use the 10 - 15 vacation days they are given. And guess what? As I sit here flipping through a travel magazine, I see an awful statistic: 34% of Americans do not use all their vacation time. And I realize that I fit that statistic, that indeed I have not used all of my vacation time this year. Maybe that will be my New Year's resolution? Certainly I should use all of my vacation time.