I'm back.
(well I've actually been back for days, but have not had time to write this)
did I say I was going away?
No, not away exactly ... but on vacation, which included a vacation from my computer (which was good for me).
More than a vacation however, the past week was a powerful lesson for me, a lesson in how to relax. Now you may say that "vacation" and "relax" are synonymous, but they are NOT. Go back into the reality of all your vacation memories and you will find that the planning, scheduling, packing, organizing, traveling and stressing was far more a part of the vacation than you expected ... or choose to remember. If you want to "travel" then of course all of the preceding agonies are necessary, but if you want to "vacation", well I have found a way around all of the above.
STAY HOME and take a vacation from your ROUTINE!
Yup, that's what we did, although we modified the "home" part a little, we stayed in our backyard!
Every year we camp ... in a pop-up trailer, in a campground near the ocean ... about three hours from home.
This year we camped ... in a pop-up trailer, in our backyard, near our small pool and a babbling brook ... about one minutes walk from our deck.
Alone for a few days ... then my step-daughter came with the boys ... we still relaxed ... and laughed ... and read books ... and the kids swam ... and we did nothing. (floating in a raft in the pool does not count as exercise I was told).
Vacation at home? Crazy you're thinking right? I have pictures to prove all this!
Not so crazy. I am more relaxed than I have been in about three years. Truth.
No schedules, no alarm clock, no TV (well, we HAD to run up and turn on the METS game when the radio announcer said there were two players down and not moving), no video games (until Saturday when we gave the kids a break from the 108 temps to sit indoors for a few hours and play), no computer (well, within reason, Birding Dad had to check his am news, and I did have to check the e-mail now and then), no financial outlay, no gas prices to worry about, no PACKING, no FORGETTING anything.
As I mentioned, this was a powerful lesson for me. I have learned ... that there are things I can give up, and how to identify the things that cause the stress (for each of us these may be different). I was told by four individuals that I looked "younger" and "more relaxed". I realized that this is also a great treatment for age lines ... without the BOTOX! No kidding! (and I know this is true because after three days at work this week I came home and my husband exclaimed ... "NO! those lines between your eyebrows are back!" Quick! Relax!
By the way ... the slide show is HERE
Posted by sunybank at August 19, 2005 07:39 PM
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