It’s February and holiday season is over. Are you planning your next holiday?
Years ago, at a holiday destination in Fiji, Hubby and I met a couple who had spent their annual holiday at the same resort … for the past 18 years. I judged them – privately of course – for what I perceived to be their lack of curiosity, the missed opportunities for adventure and personal growth.
But people need to choose their own adventure, or seeming lack thereof.
My aunty is planning a holiday to Rwanda to see the gorillas. What amazing memories she’ll make.
I have a bestie whose holidays usually involve long trips by road, train or plane, with tightly scheduled itineraries, to visit historical and cultural sites.
Neither of these two types of holidays call to me at this stage of my life.
For me, holidays are precious. There’s never enough time or money available in this short life to spend on a holiday that doesn’t meet my needs. And since we’ve moved to the country, it’s harder to get away in summer, when there’s endless watering, mowing and weeding.
We’ve just come back from a week’s break, camping at the beach. In summer. Last week, as I lay on our holiday beach 200kms away, I knew the grass was growing under our house-sitter’s feet.
Now we’re back and we’ll have to mow for two days, but the holiday was worth it. It ticked all the necessary boxes for me right now.
When I lived in a city, months would pass without my stepping on sand or grass, without seeing a sunrise or sunset. I needed trees, streams, rocky escarpments and gorgeous gorges. Remote hiking in Australia’s Top End? Tick.
Much earlier in my life, before kids, when I was establishing my own business, I worked 16hrs a day. I was completely focussed on my client’s needs and making the next mortgage payment. I popped Ibuprofen for headaches and alcohol for insomnia. I was vaguely aware my mind inhabited a body which moved me between client meetings, a body I was neglecting. After visiting a health farm, for detox and deep-tissue massage, I returned, more a human being and less a human doing. Tick.
When the kids were younger, each day was rushing between before/after-school care and work. Packing lunches, cooking healthy meals, weekends of shopping and house-chores. I needed a break with domestic assistance. Buffet meals, housekeeping and kids’ activities every day and evening. Yes.
Now I live on a rural property and work mostly from home. Aside from the bird calls and an occasional koala growl, it’s quiet. Most of my human interactions are via Teams meetings. I crave friendships, laughter, conversations, connection with others.
Our beach camping break with good friends was perfect. I lounged in the sun with sand between my toes. Each day started with coffee on the rocks, watching the surf and sunrise. Each day finished with a communal cook-up. We laughed from sun-up till sun-down.
Camped away from the city lights, one night we were lucky enough to see the Planetary Parade. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus all clear against a crisp indigo canvas. Then the dark night fell completely and lights from thousands of stars sparkled to life as we all gazed upward.
Returning from one holiday I’m always planning the next. This break was just what I needed. My next holiday may well be the same again. And again. It’s ticking those most important boxes for me right now.
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Ticks the most important boxes. Right! Love that the extra mowing was worth it!
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I think the perfect holiday is different for everyone. We have friends who adore cruises, but you couldn’t pay us to go on one. We have friends who love to stay in the heart of big cities, but we prefer quiet and out of the way. Some people return to the same spot year after year, we like to explore places we haven’t been.
😊
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Oh Jen, your holiday with friends sounds like bliss. To me the best way for me to recharge would to just go back to my old life in the bush. Moving back to a city has been hard, albeit full of opportunity for my little business to grow. Everything feels so frenetic and I miss being connected to nature, growing food, waking to birdsong and sparkling golden light through the treetops. It’s claustrophobic living in suburbia, and whilst we went years without a proper holiday when we were living off grid, I never felt I really needed one. Now I do.
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Kathy I imagine it’s been hard for you, but glad you are making the most of your business opportunities. I’ve thought about lot about those little snatches of nature I used to grab when I was in the city. A walk in the park, shopping at the market rather than the supermarket. Growing my own herbs because that’s all the room I had. Actually, swimming at the nearby pool and watching the sky change with the sunrise was my best nature fix – chlorine and all. Are you far from the lake?
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My holidays mostly involve road trips. There’s so much of the Upper Midwest left to explore, I’d be content never flying again.
Biggest takeaway for me here: koalas growl?!
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That would be benefit of you moving – new places to explore closer to home. And yes, koalas growl – you can google that for YouTube clips!
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That sounds like bliss. The holiday part not the hard work part. You write so vividly I feel as though I lived those experiences. It mirrors my own life in a lot of ways. I love getting away occasionally, I love coming home more. It must be an age thing. We recently spent the long weekend away with our son and his family at Philip Island. It ticked all my boxes. I got a good dose of hanging out with people, it helps that I love them. We didn’t have to drive far and there were ocean views and stars galore. Even the dogs came which gave me peace of mind. Once again your blog has me rabitting on. Great read Jen.
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In so glad you had a lovely break. And it’s great to be happy to come home too. And wonderful about the dogs- I do remember the worry of hoping they were happy in the kennel (back when I had dogs). An added complication to going away.
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It’s so funny: I live a lifestyle some would call the perfect holiday, and yet every one of the vacations you describe sound good to me! Especially the laughing-sunup-to-sundown one.
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I don’t think your lifestyle would be the perfect holiday (I imagine there’s work involved). It could well be the perfect way to live, though!
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The jury’s out on that! I guess the personality of the person plays a big part. And time of life, just like your vacations.
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I really love your take on this, your photos and descriptions. You’ve captured it marvelously, obviously a very relatable topic and as we prepare to set off on a trip, similar has been on my mind. During our working lives we didn’t take enough holidays. We did extended travels around Australia in 2016 to begin our treechange. Then health & family issues and Covid, again meant us taking less breaks than we’d have liked, and at best having to chop and change what few plans we had. Even still, we’ve had to rejig our arrangements for the upcoming trip, changing from towing a big caravan with a 4WD to travelling in a fuel-efficient but “cosy” campervan. Just one part of the comedy of errors that is being caught up in someone else’s plans for a February holiday in hot sweaty southeast Queensland. Wise woman that I am, I thought fast and found us holiday house accommodation for most of the duration that will cost the same as caravan park site fees and big vehicle fuel… I’m at that point where holidays are a priority no matter how we do it.
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Having to compromise around other people’s holiday preferences is a definite complication. But I love that you’re making holidays a priority. I sometimes screenshot the places you go to add to my ToDoList 🙂 And I love that you’re staying in accommodation rather than the van when it works – ticking those most important boxes for you. It’s mindful holiday planning.
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Beautifully written and oh so relatable! I especially agree with your comment about life being too short to take holidays that don’t tick the boxes. I’m in that hectic frenzy of kids / school lunches / drop-offs to various sports and activities, so the perfect holiday for me involves less coordinating and cooking sprinkled with some quiet time to myself. I was lucky enough to get a little bit of each of those through January to help me recharge for the busy year ahead!
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Glad you got in a nice break in January and are feeling recharged. Sharing the cooking and meal planning when camping with family helps with the mental load I find.
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