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I am not good at taking vacation. Because I am a workaholic perfectionist worrywart weirdo.
For many years, the nature of my career made it extraordinarily difficult to take a vacation. Let’s just say that it required pushing a lot of people to also get their work done ahead of time just so I could leave. NOT EASY. Also, sooooooo stressful.
So for many years, my “vacations” consisted of me taking my computer to some exotic locale and working while my family enjoyed a vacation. Since we often went to the west, and my office is in the east, I would be able to work from 6:00 to 4:00 and still have a few hours of daylight to devote to family fun. A few times, I tried working half days. Which meant 6:00 to noon. But it’s hard to leave at noon when your coworkers think that you are working. IT’S HARD.
But a “working vacation” is not actually a vacation. It’s work. It’s work because you have to remind your coworkers that you are on vacation or are only working part time. It’s work because you have to remind your family members that you are working. It’s work because you have to force yourself not to pout that you are stuck at a computer while your family is sleeping in and going to the lake. It’s work because YOU ARE WORKING.
Basically, it sucks. Don’t ever do it.
Last year, I took two vacations from work. One for the wedding. One for our honeymoon. It was stressful preparing for these vacations. But they were worth it. And the honeymoon? Where we had nothing to do but sight see and eat delicious French pastries and explore charming French streets and… um… enjoy the beautiful and outrageously expensive hotel (which Husband’s parents paid for! Yay! Thank you!) and the chocolate lollipops the cleaning staff placed on our pillows each night…
That was a vacation. It was relaxing. It was romantic. It was Won. Der. Ful.
Our upcoming two week vacation will not be quite the same.
My husband’s residency program gives each resident four full weeks of vacation. “Wow!” you might say. “That is awesome!”
Is it? Eh.
Because those four weeks? MUST occur in two-week segments. So. Despite the fact that I am a freelancer and I do not actually GET vacation… and if I were to have an office job, I would probably get only two weeks of vacation per year TOTAL… We now have four weeks where my husband will be off and we must use them two weeks at a time.
I am not complaining. (Okay, I am not complaining a lot.) The first two weeks, we didn’t know about enough in advance for me to take them off. So I think we went to Chicago for a weekend and then my husband hung around the house for a week or so. I can’t really remember. WHAT A WASTER.
Now, our next two weeks are coming up.
I am taking two whole weeks off of work. Which has already got me quite anxious, even though the vacay is MONTHS away. (I need to lose weight, people! I need to think about it NOW!) So that’s a good thing.
But we kind of didn’t really think about this vacation, I guess. We didn’t plan some romantic getaway for the two of us. We aren’t going back to Paris to recreate our honeymoon. (WHY NOT?!?!)
Instead, we are spending one week out West, skiing with my parents… And then we will fly immediately to California to spend a week golfing and playing tennis with Husband’s parents. (Side Note: I do not know how to golf or play tennis. Also, I have no hand-eye coordination. AT ALL.)
…
I am looking forward to it. I love my family. I love Husband’s family.
Plus, we are going skiing at a resort where I spent many winter breaks as a kid… the same resort where we got married. And then we are going to California, to the same spot that Husband and his family went every year for spring break.
So there’s sentimental value. And lots of Good Family Fun ahead of us.
But… Perhaps if I had thought things through… I would have suggested that we spend one week with one family… and the other week together. ALONE.
It’s hard, though, to disappoint your family. I haven’t seen my parents since Husband’s graduation, so obviously I want to see them. And I know Husband’s parents would be hurt if we chose to spend our vacation with my parents and not with them. (Yes, even though they got us for Christmas. It’s not the same.)
But I think we are going to need to be a little more selfish when future vacations come up. If I can take time off, we should find a cute bed and breakfast somewhere, and spend two weeks relaxing with and enjoying each other.
If we can get over the whole Hurting Our Loving Families issue.
…
What are you looking forward to, Internet? Any upcoming vacays in the mix? Do tell!