A Quick Trip, But All the Difference

Getting to the point where you feel like you NEED a vacation is not fun at all. I feel this often, and for no apparent reason. Perhaps just with the stress of normal life I often have visions of leaving everyone and everything and fending for myself on a beach with nothing but a Mango Margarita, a bathing suit and a pair of tweezers (hey, a girl's got to have nice eyebrows). Of course, I'd love Kevin to be there as well so we could pass out in the sun, or take a dip in the ocean. Though the fantasy is nice, we rarely have the opportunity to escape life all that often.

This past weekend Kevin had to give a presentation in Grand Rapids, MI on Saturday and was leaving Friday night. It's about 3 hours away from Chicago, so he asked if I wanted to join him for the ride. I was not overly excited about it because I'm not really one for road trips, and there didn't seem to be all that much to do there. But as it got closer, it sounded better and better. We put the dog in boarding, packed up the car, cued the iPod and were on our way. The 3 hour drive there was quick and uneventful, but gave us a chance to talk, play some road trip games, and just reconnect. We got to the hotel and I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.



I woke up the next morning and Kevin was already gone for his presentation. I had found some great hiking trails online before we left. Unfortunately, I woke up to storming weather, so I nixed the hiking idea. Instead I went to the gym in the hotel and made myself workout for an hour. I felt so great and rejuvenated afterwards. After the workout I showered and got ready for the day, and ate a delicious omelet in the hotel restaurant while reading my teenage vampire book.



Kevin still had a couple hours left before he could leave so I found a mall in town and hit up some stores. When you live in the city, malls sometimes get exciting! The stores weren't great, but I found some great deals and soon found my way back to the hotel to pick Kevin up. We drove the 3 hours back home and the rest of the weekend was filled with napping, wine drinking, more napping, and driving Bailey crazy with tons of kisses and pets.



Today I feel refreshed, and really ready to tackle this IVF cycle. Lately I have felt so tired and cranky, that looking at the next day in life seems a struggle. But this weekend was such a tiny escape from life it got me back on track. Sometimes we don't need to fly 1,000 miles away to segregate ourselves on a beach to really get away. I found this weekend that even getting a tiny break from the dog, laundry and the internet will do the trick, and it was, afterall, just a quick trip.