Take a vacation

Friday, September 10, 2010

Mr. A's mom has been mildly supportive of us in our quest to have a baby. And by "mildly" I mean that she does not constantly ask us how it's going or complain that she is grandchild-less, but she also is the queen of anecdotal pregnancy stories after beginning the adoption process, or after just relaxing, or after taking a vacation.

She stayed with us a few nights ago, and just as she was getting into her car, she (again) remarked to me, "You should have him take you on a vacation."

And by vacation she means going somewhere with a plane involved and several nights in a fancy hotel room.

By nature, me and Mr. A do not have the travel bug in the slightest. We would rather surround ourselves in our home with our pups and nice things (including all the amazing natural cleaning/shampoo/soap products I've been buying lately- upcoming post, so stay tuned!!) here than spend tons of cash going here and there. And in general, we would just rather save our money. Nothing against people who do love to travel (e.g., my sister and her husband), but it's just not a priority for us.

Case in point, when we spent almost a week with my family recently following my grandfather's death, it came up in conversation that it was kind of a vacation for us. I swear we caught my globe-trotting sister's mouth hanging open for a few seconds.

They go to Paris and eat in fancy cafe's, and we go to the northeast and eat barbeque on my uncle's patio.

But even if we did have the travel bug, the money and energy and time spent on trying to have a little one would most likely obviate many of our planned destinations (so I'm sort of glad we could care less). We could have gone on a couple fancy vacations with the amount of money we spent on IUI's and IVF's. We could have made that reservation for a lake house following our (failed) IVF if only we had the energy and passion to make any kind of decision after that heartache. We could feel less worried about scheduling time off far in advance if we could be sure our baby would be born in a certain month, instead of contstantly shifting the month that he'll be born.

All of that being said, I know it's important to give yourself (ourselves) a break from the day-to-day sometimes. I guess we are lucky in that our home is really our haven for us. There is nothing like falling asleep on the couch at 9:15pm after a great dinner, with all the dishes washed and the counters cleaned, and the floors swiffered, and two pups somehow curled up with each other in the one armchair. No matter where we are, that is our peace. And you don't need a vacation from peace, do you?

Maybe someday we'll have the totally expendable funds and time and passion to commit to a "real" vacation. For now, our vacation starts each night at 6pm. All aboard :)

9 comments:

Hillary said...

My husband and I are kind of similar - especially my husband who is quite the homebody :) We've never taken a "big" vacation, and any bigger trips have been with family or to visit family/ friends. However, I would LIKE to do a big trip now and again, but IF treatments have destroyed any funds we would possibly do that with. But that's ok.

Your home sounds so restful and wonderful to me - so glad you have that haven!! I would rather have a comfortable and restful home life than a vacation any day. :)

Rach said...

I like a little of both, vacations and home.

I've been really busy lately and I feel like this weekend is going to be a vacation, on the couch!!

Trisha said...

You know me, I love to travel but I like being at home too. You know you can always take a "vacation at home"; I read about a lot of people who were doing that this year because of the economy situation. Unplug the TV and the phones and you'll be set! Still praying for you!

Kristen said...

Sounds like the best vacations to me. We do the same thing.

Pez

Anonymous said...

We spend every weekend "on vacation". Curled up on the couch with our doggy, watching net.flix and just enjoying each other's company.
I do love to travel though! Hubby can't stand to fly anymore (too much getting shot at while flying will mess anybody up), so our vacation options are limited to where we can drive to, or take a boat to. I don't mind, though. I'm happy wherever I go as long as he's there :).

the misfit said...

I think that's ideal. I honestly have very little of the "get away" bug (there are some DESTINATIONS I can be tempted to, but leaving in itself is not attractive), though my DH has a lot more, so I can't be as much of a homebody as I'd like to. On the other hand, I don't think my home has quite achieved the serenity of yours. Something to work on.

Becky said...

I definitely enjoy being at home, but I also love vacations. Maybe because they have been so rare - we just took our first week long trip that didn't involve visiting family last month. We have had some weekend getaways though which I have loved.

I have really striven to make our home warm and welcoming to others, but you have really inspired me to think about making it a place of peace and a haven for us (not leaving dirty dishes in the sink after dinner would probably be a good place for me to start!).

Mrs. Chapman's 2nd Grade Class said...

I am a homebody too. We had our pool replastered and tiled this summer so that is our "vacation" for a long time! I enjoy being at home and having people over that can also enjoy our home. Plus I'm with you on the amount of money we have spent on treatments and now the adoption. A big fancy trip is not in the cards for us.

Leah said...

It's wonderful that your home is a haven. That is so important. :)