Are You Missing Vacation Moments?

In truth, we all know we're too busy. We know we're mixing up our priorities and rationalizing our crazy workload on a daily basis.  The truth is that we might not be able to stop making these errors and missing the little moments… at least not all the time.

But we can take breaks to check back in with the people and things that are really important. We can have what Hands Free Mama likes to call “vacation moments.”  Moments where we truly unplug and reset.  Here's what she has to say about it:

I have an impressive track record when it comes to powering through the exhaustion … ignoring the warning signs of burnout … and making excuses as to why I cannot slow down. “Someday, I’ll have time to do that, ” slides off my lips quite well—at least it used to.

But ‘someday’ is nowhere to live your life. This I have learned.

I was once a professional putter-offer, meaning I consistently put off the best moments of life to attend to the urgent demands of life.

Too busy to play

Too busy to sit down and eat

Too busy to just talk

But in that delay of living well comes a pretty unpleasant side effect—one you cannot hide. In that delay of living well, the worst side of you comes out.

Hands Free Mama shares the moment that she realized she needed to stop and enjoy her “vacation moments.” Ironically, it was after a family vacation where her bad attitude nearly ruined everything.

During that vacation, I was consumed by lack of Internet connection, overabundance of calories being ingested, commitments I wasn’t fulfilling, and projects I needed to complete back home. It all seemed so urgent, yet I don’t even remember a single detail about those duties now. That’s how insignificant they were. But at the time, they were overpowering.

Now here’s the really tragic part:

I talked my husband into leaving early.

We left our dusty but cozy cabin in the mountains because my outer demands and outer approval were more important than my inner needs and inner circle.

That's heavy stuff. Are we cutting our vacations, are moments of uninterrupted family & self time short in order to climb back on the hamster wheel? Do we ever let ourselves off the hamster wheel?

For the past two weeks, I stepped away from blogging and scaled back my productivity level. In return, I received:

The warmth of real voice and a real face …

A collection of precious three-year-old nephew questions to last me for eternity …

For the first time in months, I’ve slept soundly … laughed loudly … listened intently … loved deeply.

It was not a good time for me to step away, but it was a necessary time.

Maybe it's time to say “Enough!” and get off the hamster wheel. Maybe it's time for a vacation in your life, not to the Bahamas… just back to those you love and taking care of yourself.  Check out the rest of the article to find out if you need more vacation moments in your life right now.