We just came home from vacation, le sigh. It was magic, who doesn't love vacation?! And who doesn't want more vacation in their life?! The answer is everyone - haha - everyone wants more vacation in their life. I've been thinking about this a lot.
I have never really liked the idea of "living for vacation" and over the last few weeks, I couldn't stop thinking about that notion. It seems sad to me to live a life in anticipation. Don't get me wrong, looking forward to vacation is normal, good, exciting, all of that - but living the majority of your life for a few weeks of vacation? It seems to me that life is simply too short and that we deserve to live much happier lives.
On vacation, I started a list of the things I loved the most about vacation. Walking to the park in the morning topped my list. Every morning we would head out to the park, I would get a good walk in and the boys would get to run around, play imaginary baseball, soccer, basketball or at the actual park. I asked my kids what they loved the most about vacation, too. The answers surprised me, although it probably shouldn't have. Walking to the park in the morning.
Vacation gives us the gift of time, despite time not changing at all. Time feels longer, possibilities seem endless and we seem to "find the time" for all of the things we love to do. Well, I refuse to accept that this is something we only do when we are on vacation and so I am practicing vacation from now on. Much like practicing mindfulness, practicing vacation requires you to make time for those moments that matter to you most - those moments you seem to find time for on vacation.
Today was our first day back to work and we started practicing vacation right away. While we didn't recreate our exact walk to the park we did find a way to start our day with a walk and some play. Today the boys and I decided we would park a ways away from Vivo, where I work. We packed their bikes in the vehicle and they rode their bikes from our parking spot to Vivo while I enjoyed a good walk.
It wasn't big, it didn't change the world, and we didn't need to be on vacation, but it sure started my day off right. We will keep sharing how we are practicing vacation - I'd love to know how you do this - feel free to follow our journey and share yours with #practicingvacation
- Love From Maria