Why is it that the time in your life that you need a vacation the most you can’t afford it and it’s just not the right time? I mean, can you really think of anyone more in need or deserving of a vacation than new parents??? I dare you to challenge me on that one! ;)
Before The Boss Lady became the star of Team Milligan, Mike and I used to take some great vacations. We’ve been to Jamaica, Mexico, Vegas, New Orleans, a cruise, and a few other awesome places. And we’ve always enjoyed ourselves to the fullest. We get the all inclusive package when we can and we make good friends with the bartenders (No, really, I promise we REALLY DO have other hobbies that don’t involve booze!). Our vacations range from an extended weekend to a full week away from the chaos that is our lives.
Many years ago, before Mike and I were even married, I was a manager at an insurance company and I remember what a pain in the butt it was for my team members to take vacation. I was a young manager and most of my team members were married and had children. While they were gone, I was responsible for making sure that none of their work slipped through the cracks and that week was usually insanely busy. When the team member would return, I would excitedly ask, “What did you do on your vacation!?!?” I mean, if I had to be there all week doing their work, the least they could do was share a little of their excitement from vacation with me. And each time, I would be sorely disappointed. “Oh, we just stayed home and did things around the house,” they would say.
WHAT?!?!? Are you flippin’ kidding me?? That used to be all the proof I needed that having kids made you boring. Seriously, I actually thought that.
But like most things since I began my own journey into parenthood, I was wrong. I swear I’ve eaten enough crow since becoming a mom to feed every starving person in the world.
I’m a little surprised to find that I really crave just spending time at home. I used to be all about running around all weekend but now I just want to spend a few days just doing nothing around the house.
During Easter I get a few extra days off of work. I get Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter weekend, and Easter Monday. I was so excited to have these days off of work and I could think of nothing I would rather do than sit at home! Yes, I was looking forward to a few days of total nothingness. Olivia’s school was only closed on Friday but she stayed with me Thursday as we went shopping with my sister, Michelle, and on Friday we just hung out around the house. Seriously, we did NOTHING that day!
That Monday, Mike took off of work and he and I woke up, took Olivia to daycare (Yep, we are THOSE parents. Suck it. ), and then just hung out together. We went to the grocery store, dropped my car off for an oil change, ate lunch (at home), watched a movie (also at home), then went to pick up our Sweet Pea. All in all, it was a fabulous day. Since August 24, 2010, Mike and I have not spent an entire day alone in our home. I had no idea I would miss that.
Hopefully, you know by now how much we adore The Boss Lady. So, it’s not that we don’t want her around. It’s just rare that Mike and I get to be alone for more than a couple of hours. We both feel that it is so important to spend some one-on-one time alone, just the 2 of us. Sometimes we just need that time to reconnect and focus on each other. That’s a priority in our relationship and we try to plan times to be able to do that.
Luckily, we also had an opportunity for bonus mini-vacation courtesy of our friends, Rich & Alex. They got married the last weekend in April in Austin so Mike and I took that opportunity to get away for a night and spend some much needed one-on-one time together. Uncle Michael and Aunt Michelle took on The Boss Lady and Mike and I took of to Austin on Saturday morning. We didn’t really even turn on the radio the entire car trip, we just talked (okay, so maybe a few of our conversations were about our angel baby…). We went to a well-known restaurant off of Lake Travis called The Oasis and we sat and drank margaritas until it was time to check in to our hotel. The wedding was wonderful and we danced our feet off and stayed until the couple made their grand exit. It was so great to have a night out where we could freely enjoy ourselves without having to worry about possibly being woken up in the middle of the night.
And, okay, so maybe I still woke up at 6:30 the next morning out of habit, but it was still nice to wake up NATURALLY and not because of an alarm clock (electronic OR human). And, yeah, so maybe I’m not used to drinking so much anymore and maybe I threw up my wine that night, but Mike and I still had a blast just hanging out together (even if he did have to hold my hair back for me)!
The funny thing is that, when I got sick, I felt so embarassed saying “I’m somebody’s MOTHER! I should not be puking up my wine!” While it’s true that I am someone’s mother, I’m also still just ME. And, while I will pass on the getting sick part, it’s okay to kick back and have some fun with my husband without our Sweet Pea.
After that story, and all of my past references to my love for wine, I think it’s pretty pointless to try to convince you all that I’m not a lush…
In the past few days, Mike and I have had a few Milligan Family Budget Meetings to plan for some upcoming expenses. It sure seems like we have a lot these days! Last week, I was telling Mike that I was upset about some of these expenses because I knew that we couldn’t pay for all of the things coming up AND take a vacation any time soon. That really made me sad. I mean REALLY. It seems that as the days go by, I need a break more and more. And not even a break from Olivia. I’d love for the 3 of us to go somewhere and just hang out for a week. Somewhere with sand, and pina coladas (my mandatory beach drink), and plush suites with big comfy beds.
Mike reminded me though that it’s really the small things that make our family amazing. I remember after we got married, we were trying to pay off our wedding (before we went all Dave Ramsey), and we really buckled down on our spending. Most of our weekends were spent taking walks together or watching a movie on Netflix. Then we’d get a six pack of beer and play Rock Band all night. I loved those weekends because we were just spending time together. For 2 days, we would just be US. He’s right, it is the little things that make our family wonderful.
We have to start thinking smaller scale when it comes to vacations. At least for right now. Hopefully, there will be a day where we can go to some swanky resort where they treat you like Hollywood movie stars even though they know you saved for an entire year to afford to be there. But, for now, we’re just going to take advantage of the little things. Like taking a day off from work and just hanging around the house, doing nothing together. Or taking a short (and inexpensive), overnight trip.
Ultimately, what I want out of this whole vacation thing anyway is time with my 2 favorite people. Time where we don’t have to wake up to a screaming alarm clock and jet off somewhere. Time where we can kick back and just hang out.
However, I’ve still got my eye on this great little all inclusive beach resort! So, if reading this made you feel really sad for us and you’d like to send a donation to The Milligan Family Very Much Needed Vacation Fund, we wouldn’t turn it down!
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