I’m an active guy. Slowing down is not something I do well. At work, I stay busy. At home, I stay busy.Even when I go on vacation, I don’t vacation. What is this “relaxation” you speak of?
So here’s a great example of what I’m talking about. I planned a family trip to Disney a few years ago. Nevermind the fact I erroneously planned the trip during one of Disney’s peak seasons, spring break. Let’s start with who was on this adventurous and daring trip. My wife. My sister. My 6 kids. My 60 year old mom and dad. My 65 year old mother and father in law. As if that wasn’t enough, our days started early and consisted of me with 1 kid on my shoulders and 1 on each hand. I had 3 kids by myself, while all the other adults had 3 between them. Why can’t they keep up with me? (I was a little oblivious to the fact I was toting four elderly grandparents through an overcrowded Disney park…turned out one of of them was coming down with an upper respiratory infection!)
While the mornings started early (6 or 7 am), the evenings ended late. After all, we’re staying at a Disney hotel, and I needed to use that extra hour they give you after the park closes. Most days, everyone else wrapped early, while I kept a few of the kids out till 12:00 or later. No wonder I was tired when I got back from my vacation! I believe I walked 8 miles a day!
Now things are starting to change. In the last several years, I’ve been blessed to have some wonderful friends come into my life who live a much different vacation lifestyle than I do. Now I’m learning to chill. I’m learning to actually sit on a beach and relax by a pool for longer than 30 minutes at a time. I don’t actually have to be doing something all the time! It’s freaking amazing!
Now, the reason for the timing of this post is that my wife and I just returned from Sandals Grande Resort in St. Lucia. It was an amazing trip and probably my favorite resort and vacation to date. Let me emphasize this was a “no kid” vacation. We didn’t take our kids, but even better there were no kids at the resort! Some parents may judge me for leaving my kids behind, but I really don’t care. I’ve earned it. Now, you shouldn’t feel guilty about taking a trip without your kids. It’s healthy for you. Our trip was a short one spanning Wednesday through Sunday. Keep in mind we have six kids, so 1 day away from six kids is equal to 3 days away from 2 kids.
My wife and I really enjoyed St. Lucia and Sandals, so I feel I owed them a shout out since they took such good care of us. Thanks Sandals! Hopefully we’ll see you again soon!
