Everyone Deserves a Break

I regularly marvel at what life is like with a flexible schedule. As I was putting together all of our events and activities way back in August, I realized that the way January was shaping up would make my availability for lessons inconsistent and a bit erratic.

I’m all for consistency when it comes to education of any kind and decided that I would just “take off” January and make Christmas Break a whole month and a half. So I was able to have my own version of a J-Term for the first time since college and man, I couldn’t give a higher recommendation to anyone. 

If you weren’t a student blessed with a J-term in college, it basically was coming back from Christmas break to only one class, for an extended period each day, but also full of so much free time because you only have one class to go to. Yes, it was a semester’s worth of information in like three weeks, but it always felt easy breezy–especially if you got an afternoon block class instead of a morning one!

It was the perfect way to spend January. I got to go on a week-long vacation and not worry about sub plans. Now, I did have to do the mom version of sub plans for my own mother–not only did she have to get kids to and from school and other activities, she also had to keep things organized for Dance Exposition–but I also trusted her implicitly with all of that and was able to do what I could beforehand and then not worry about it.

So, because all of the pieces fell in place, I was able to have my first travel experience to Mexico at an all-inclusive resort. This also happened to be the first vacation my husband and I had together–alone–since our honeymoon over 10 years ago. I love traveling. I love planning vacations. It was nice to not have to plan this one and just go along for the ride (I, of course, had notes…LOL). My Scandinavian-ness doesn’t lend itself to hot climates (or extensive time in the sun) so even though I would never purposely choose a location closer to the equator, I was prepared. Long-sleeve sun shirts. Sunscreen. Big ol’ hat. 

We arrived at the Cancún airport and became instantly overwhelmed with the sheer number of people going through customs. But we got through fine, found our transportation (I slayed at the ignoring people trying to get you to ride with them or buy time shares or whatever they were selling), and I got to marvel at the streets of Mexico as we drove to our resort.

We stayed at Planet Hollywood-Cancún, which I DO NOT recommend if you are introverted and interested in a quiet relaxing vacation. I will say everything besides the musty smell in our room was marvelous–except for the noise level. There were lots of loud activities going on most of the time–and as phenomenal as the DJs and performers were, I could have used some more quiet time. We experienced extraordinary food, some of the best service ever, and truly had perfect weather. It was the closest I have gotten to experiencing childhood again–no worries, no cares, no plan making, no worrying about cleaning up. I just made sure I had my Kindle, sunscreen, sunglasses, and a handful of dollars with me at all times.

While I loved not having to pay for anything on the resort, I did feel like we were missing out on experiencing Mexican culture. The one day we left the resort was for our excursion to Isla Mujeres. It was hot and sweaty walking around the island, but we got to sail on a catamaran, eat authentic tacos, and be harassed on the street to “come in my little shop”. Everything was so colorful and vibrant and even though I was miserably sweaty, I loved it. 

We were supremely ready to come back home though, even though it was nearly 100 degrees colder. I read so many books and fully got to exit reality for the first time in what felt like forever. It was glorious. 

Now comes my admission…

I could have gone on a trip like this significantly earlier in my life. My husband’s family business earns these trips every year, rotating through who gets to go each year (if you’re there long enough everyone gets a chance!) and he has been around long enough that we could have gone a long time ago, but we never did because I couldn’t imagine it.

I couldn’t imagine leaving the kids when they were even littler.

I couldn’t imagine missing a week from school and making sub plans.

I couldn’t imagine taking unpaid days.

The unfortunate truth is that I couldn’t imagine releasing the fear of all of that to give myself a week of rejuvenation.

It all felt too hard. And don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of work to prepare to leave when you are handing off the care of your children and their busy little lives, but after losing control of your life and reimagining it and rebuilding it, that all didn’t seem so hard anymore.

The reward of releasing that fear and saying yes to this opportunity was far easier than I would have ever thought it could be and the effect felt miraculous. I think I knew this, deep down. I grew up in a family that went on long camping vacations every summer. I was the kid who went on trips and wasn’t homesick. I know that experiencing life outside of your own lane is incredibly rewarding. I love traveling. I should have known this would be the end result, but when you get so stuck in your lane with blinders on, you lose sight of those things.

So what I learned was that you say yes to a break when the time arises. It might not be an all-inclusive resort in Mexico, but time for yourself or with loved ones where you release the burden of life will always be worth it. Finding time and space for yourself–to know and love yourself better–will always be worth it. Making memories is what this life is all about.

And most importantly, give yourself permission to take a break from things periodically. It doesn’t just have to be in the summer. It doesn’t have to be in January. We all need seasons of life where things wind down, where we can find rejuvenation, where we can find peace. Everything is transitory. Every season, every moment, every vacation, every impossible moment–it’s all fleeting. And life is far too precious to squander. So say yes to the free trip, say yes to taking a step back, say yes to making memories, say yes to new experiences, say yes to yourself. In saying yes to those things, you effectively are learning how to say no to other things: fear, doubt, being stuck, busyness.