Beach House Diaries: The Benefits of Busy Work

When my mother's family sailed from Holland to New York in 1662, high hopes and a lingering love of cheese weren't the only things they brought with them. They also carried over a conviction that "idle hands do the devil's work," which -- for better or worse -- I seem to have inherited. The "worse" part predominates on vacation since it makes it hard for me to truly leave my job behind. Especially in those first days at the shore when I haven't yet been hypnotized by the sound of lapping waves, I always feel that I must do some work to earn my downtime.