I hope everyone is well and staying healthy in our new norm. Summer is usually a time when we are all planning vacations near and far. This summer is a bit different and if there is going to be a get-away; be sure it will be near. Usually, this time of year I would be planning an August trip to Europe or some other far away destination. However, this summer is all about the staycation. I’ll be honest; I am beginning to feel a bit boxed in, but I realize this is the way things are going to be for awhile. I’ve been staying at my weekend home on Long Island which has always been my sanctuary from NYC. But since March it has been my permanent home; taking away the get-away aspect because I’m always doing household chores, yard work, etc. Why does it seem that things break down the more you use them???
I needed to have a conversation with myself the other day. I just wasn’t enjoying the house the way I used to. I was feeling it was more work than fun. I knew I needed to figure out how to create the staycation here, but how??? Before I continue, I know I am extremely lucky to have this second home. How fortunate am I…when there is so much suffering going on all around me. This is what I first reminded myself of in my one on one conversation with yours truly. Just this friendly reminder kicked things off.
I decided to make two to three weekday evenings and the weekends chore free and take advantage of this extra time I have in my home in a truly beautiful environment. I never used to go to the beach in the evening so I decided that was going to change. I’ve begun to go to the ocean a few evenings during the work week after I was done for the day; to just sit and stare at the water, read or go for a thoughtful walk along the beach. Even if I’m gone for only 30 minutes, I feel I was able to completely decompress. Those 30 minutes turned out to be part of my staycation. Just being able to sit in the yard in the evening and breathe in the fresh air and have dinner outside has become part of the staycation.
I’m trying really hard to make weekends chore free and explore and do things that I’ve always wanted to do here, but said I didn’t have the time. I’m not totally there yet, but it’s definitely a work in progress. I’m determined to carve out two weeks in August and make this time in my home the best staycation ever.
The lesson in this for me is that even though I’m not getting on that plane to Italy in August, how lucky and grateful am I to be healthy and be able to staycation in such a beautiful place. Don’t be hard on yourself if you feel as though you should not feel boxed in, but you do. It’s totally normal. At that time remind yourself of all the good in your life and take that walk, go for that drive, get that ice cream cone and daydream of the staycation you’re going to create.