Vacation

As we are winding down our summer vacation, I thought that I would share a few thoughts from or post vacation. These will be in no order and may only be simple thoughts.

  • This was the first time in my professional career, that I was ever able to take off more than 5 business days at a time.
  • There were a lot of laughs and some tears (future blog post).
  • We had a great time going to several different beaches in North Carolina.
  • I was able to take my son’s where I went to college at UNCW
  • We were able to go by Bitty & Beau’s Coffee Shop & if you don’t know about them, you are missing out. Great coffee and an even better cause!
  • Ran into a high school friend.
  • Saw family.
  • Forgot how much I miss living in North Carolina
  • 1 word BBQ! If you love BBQ and haven’t been to Sam’s Jones BBQ, shame on you.
  • Relaxation – something that I have been desperately needing.

So those are just a few thoughts from the trip. There will be more added I am sure, but it was good to get away. And something that has become a tradition with us, is that before we got home, we already planned out not 1, but 3 possible trips.

1 – back to North Carolina

2 – a quiet getaway for my wife and I, unsure of the destination of that one.

3 – depending on a few things financially, DISNEY, again!

For me, this post vacation recap is more for my own memories. The boys will remember the ocean and playing with their cousins and the water park for sure. For me, it was a time to step away from life and refocus. Think about what I want to do long term with my career. Where do we want to live? What do I want to do and how can I better help others?

A lot of thoughts and discussions were had these last several days. And I truly grateful that I took a longer vacation. Sure, I’ll be further behind at work. But, what is more important? Being behind or spending time with my wife and kids?

 

 

 

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Summer schedules are both a blessing and a curse!

This summer, has been a blast for the kids. They have been doing a one week on and one week off with their camps this summer. And tomorrow, they start up a 2 week swimming lesson class and then in the afternoon, Mindcraft camp! Now, the Mindcraft camp is something that they have really looked forward too, but at the same time, they have also struggled with the week off.

A few observations on while they are at camp, they sleep a lot better and they aren’t peeing in the bed at night (FYI a future post). But they are worn out at night, which is a great thing, but being off a week, throws their schedules off a lot too.

Another great thing about this summer is that my wife and I have gotten a weekly date! I can’t even put into words how awesome that is. We get to goto dinner. Talk. Enjoy a glass of wine or two. Catch up and actually date again. There are books on the importance of dating your spouse, which I highly recommend.

But back to summer schedules. The great thing about the boys schedule is just that, there has been a week on and off for them. They get to have fun and relax. The bad part is that for Boy B, he needs the schedules more so than Boy A. But, it has also put him in very anxious and difficult positions and he has needed to learn some more coping techniques too.

Now that we are rounding out July and starting 2 new camps for the next 2 weeks, we are also transitioning into August. Where we live, August just means that we have another month before school starts. But, it also means that we are going on vacation soon too.

We have had a lot of personal things going on, which will most definitely be a future blog post, but for now, I just say that for the first time in my professional career, I’m taking more than 1 week off. Does that mean that I will not work during that time, no. What it means is that I am taking time to regroup. Spend time with my family. Relax.

One thing that I’m learning more and more about, is the need to relax. The need to have downtime. The need to separate from work and to just enjoy life.

This year, I’ve changed our summer vacation to something more of what I need. So this year, we will spend 3 days with my family and our niece and nephew so that the boys can spend time with their cousins, I’ll also get time with just the four of us at the beach alone too.

But, we’ll also go and say goodbye to my grandmother, my last grandparent.

So, as we adjust and review summer schedules, life goes on.

Until tomorrow, when the boys start back a 2 week intense swimming lessons. I start preparing for some much needed downtime.

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Relaxation is a very important thing, but it is something that I really struggle with. And by struggle, I mean I am awful at it.

Sitting on the boat this week while I am on vacation, it hit me like a ton of bricks, I don’t know how to relax. The entire time, I kept thinking about work, what my week was going to look like, what the bills were going to look like for the week, etc. BUT, there is a great thing about this, I realized what I was doing and I figured out who I could talk with to help me.

I also know that it is going to take me time to figure out a long term solution/strategy to overcome this struggle in my life or as I more frequently refer to it as a challenge. For me, I can usually go and cook and that will help clear my mind, but when I am out of the office, the texts and emails come in just the same as if I were in the office and due to the nature of my job, it is hard to really disengage from work.

So, as I type this at the kitchen table, the day before we leave to head back home, I have already cringed at looking at my schedule for next week and I have about 30 minutes free each day. Only 30 minutes. My friend that is a psychologist asked the question if it was even sometimes worth me going away and I laughed and didn’t respond. See, that is how hard it is for me to relax because I know that when I am out of the office, I am mentally still in the office.

Going forward, I think that I’m going to try something new to help me learn some new relaxation techniques. For starters, I am going to start taking a week and a half to two weeks off and I’m going to block the first week back from any meetings that are not priorities. I have already delegated a lot of my work to my team, so that they can handle a lot of it. Are these things going to help, I don’t know but I certainly hope so and I think that it is at least a good first step.

I have also talked with my friend that is a psychologist and we are going to setup regular calls so that we can discuss more techniques to help me relax even more. Because the more that I can do now to relax, the better of a father that I will be. Instead of giving my sons my 100% undivided attention this week, I thought about work way too much. And shame on me, because my sons and my wife deserve that from me. So, life lesson here kids, learn these things at an early age. Learn how to relax and prioritize and learn that it is your responsibility to be the best father that you can to your kids, because they will not be little kids very long.

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It’s that time of the year, were families start planning or in my case, taking a family vacation. We decided to do a early vacation this year, instead of our traditional trip to the beach in September.

So tonight, we load up and head to a hotel about 45 miles away, spend the night and in the morning, we are taking the boys not only their first flight, but their first trip to Disney World!

So for the next week, the family and I’ll be on vacation and enjoying a week away and making memories.

 

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Vacation has come and gone and as I sit in my office, I miss the time that I had with the boys at the beach. I miss the laughing, the relaxation and just being with them during the day.

Our vacation each year, usually includes a week at the beach, mostly at the beach, but this year, we decided to mix in a little education into the trip as well. So the middle of last week, we took the boys to the Aquarium that was about 15 minutes from the beach house and let them walk around and touch sting rays, crabs, etc. and they had a blast. But I think that the highlight from that day was walking out and seeing the Blue Angels doing their practice runs for the day. Now whenever the boys see a plane, they ask if it is one of the Blue Angels. I get it, growing up, most guys wanted to be either a professional athlete or a fighter pilot.

But the thing that I realized the most is that the boys are growing up. They are doing more and more for themselves and becoming even more independent. Boy B decided that he liked Turkey sandwiches with mustard, who knew? Boy A got the courage up to dive into the pool and both learned how to boogie board. And what I saw more than anything, was that they were determined to not only try these new things, but if they got knocked down, they immediately jumped up and tried again.  This determination will only carry them further in life. This determination that they learned before vacation, but which only grew stronger will be something that will help mold their personalities.

Our family vacation had it’s challenges, but all in all, the boys had a great time.

 

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Vacation is quickly approaching and I can not wait.  Every year we look forward to a family vacation and every year, it doesn’t seem like it is coming fast enough.

Well, it is almost that time. In fact, it is so close, that my wife and I are already talking about packing, what food we need to take, what we are going to cook, etc.

The boys have no clue that vacation is coming up. They have no idea that for 7 days, they will be playing on the beach. They have no idea that they are going to be able to run and play in the ocean.
They have no idea that they are going to see family, cousins, grandparents, etc.

But for my wife and I, it is a chance to unwind. Vacation is something that we look forward to every year. But not in the same way we once did. Now, we look forward to vacation for the quality family time, with no cell phones, computers/internet, or just basic struggles of life.

Vacation is going to be a great time, to relax and recharge.

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My wife and I have had a long discussion about what to do for our summer family vacation this year. And the debate came down to 1 thing, do we spend the money for a vacation or do put that money towards paying down debt? The average vacation is somewhere between $1,000 – $2,000, depending on where you go.

Well, after a lot of back and forth, we decided that it was important for us to get away for a few days for our summer vacation. So, now that the decision had been made, the question became where do we go?  The decision was made to save between now and the trip, push back the trip until off peak season, and look for bargains.  With fewer families taking a summer vacation this year and opting to stay local, there are deals to be had/made. We will be staying a few days with family before heading to the beach for a few days. The boys are still too young for the ocean, but we were able to rent a house that had a pool for a $4,000 discount. That was literally difference between the week before we are going and the week that we rented the house for.  We are going to also take all of our food, so that we are eating at the house and only going out to eat 1 night while we are there. This will be a huge savings for us as well.

So, if you can, enjoy your summer vacation, whether you go to the beach or stay local. Have fun as a family and enjoy your family time together.

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It is February and many families are starting to plan their summer vacation. But how is the economy playing into those decisions? Are you planning on staying local for your summer vacation? Or are you looking to maybe travel, but stay closer to home? For us, we’ve decided to leave town, but we are doing a trip with other family members to cut down on the cost. By doing this, we will save on gas, food and the house rental.

A summer vacation is important, it is great for getting away, having fun with the kids, and experiencing something new. But with a down economy, high gas prices, and uncertainty with our economy it is important to be smart when planning your family summer vacation.

So what are your family plans for your summer vacation?

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