Vacation: One Step Back, Two Steps Forward.

We are on vacation in Florida!!! Our home life is so busy and we work really hard. Kids included! While away from jobs, household chores, cooking, cleaning and school we are free to use time how we want which is truly a luxury.

I laugh when I think back on my 20 year old self, with no responsibilities. My vacation time was spent on watching movies, flipping through magazines and other such gluzsing (a word made up by my mom to represent watching the tube and eating bonbons). In more recent years, I’d spend time sitting on the sofa scrolling my feed or shopping online. Now, I’m learning to see time so differently. I don’t want to miss the opportunity I have this week! Vacation is my time to think clearly. While lounging, I’m going to fight the urge to just doom scroll and instead be intentional about moving forward in my personal, and spiritual life.

Here are some of the activities I’m going to try to do this week:

Spiritual life: Take some time to pray and listen.
Relationships: I’ll reflect on each of my kids and Tyler and assess how they are doing and how I can love them better. Tyler and I will make sure to take out each kid individually for “special time” which is an opportunity for them to get our full attention, talk, and have fun. Tyler and I will also make sure to get a date night.
Homelife: I want to spend time strategizing on areas or routines that can improve. I have some decluttering projects I’ll be tackling when we get home, so I’ll try to make a strategy for that. I love watching YouTube videos to inspire in this department.
Creative life: I’ll set aside some time to sketch. I’ve purchased a new art journal and watercolor pencils I’m excited to try out. I’ll also spend some time planning upcoming Instagram reels as well as home impovement projects.

I’ve heard it said “Times of peace are to prepare for times of war”. I’m not thinking of that literally, but regular life can be so intense that internally I have that attitude that I need to prepare myself in these “peace times” so that I’m strong for my family during the “wartime” of regular life. In the past, I’ve used vacation to check out and “recover” which never quite scratched the itch I had. My hope is by feeding my spirit I will strengthen myself for whatever awaits when get back to our regularly scheduled program. It feels so good and soul-feeding to build myself up and move forward!