Work work work. Every day, most of us leave for work and come home. To the same home, every single day unless you are really tired and you wind up parking in the neighbors' driveway to some very confused looks. Home is where we belong and for the most part long to be.
However, sometimes home is just not where the heart is. It starts to feel as welcoming as the cubical or work truck. The “place you go.” It loses the appeal and warmth it once had and relegates itself to being the container of a glorified dorm. We all want to love our home, but something about it just starts to blend to gray. As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
But what's the answer? Find a new home? No. Just stand on your porch (or door mat) and say to your home, “I think it's best if we took a break.” It's important to let your home know you don't plan on seeing other homes. And definitely set clear boundaries about sleeping in another home's bed! That can cause emotional issues. Just reiterate that you need some space to gain perspective.
Enter the “staycation.” We were recently invited to take our own little break at the DoubleTree in Del Mar, a seaside town here in San Diego.
Just far enough away from home that we get some breathing room. We've also found that taking some time for ourselves helps us rediscover what we love about living in San Diego. This small getaway allowed us to discover new sights we had overlooked for years.
We even had an opportunity to take the boys geocaching for “treasure.”
One of the best parts was the pool. They had a big resort-style pool, and a hot tub and even a wading pool.
Minion splashed around happily.
There are a few fancy spaces for adults to enjoy, too, but we mostly stayed out of those.
Of course, all the DoubleTree hotels have warm chocolate chip cookies at the front desk for happy little boys to snack on.
Okay. For me to snack on.
They boys had to eat some type of vegetable first. I just had to find some to ward them off. I was happy to find the on-site dining to be very enjoyable as Chelsea dined on filet mignon and I had dusted calamari and mahi-mahi fish tacos.
We were so busy playing around the new spaces we didn't even order one of the movies in the room…just crashed on our cushy beds and dozed off while taking in the view.
Okay. Chelsea and I did that. The boys were mostly screwing around with the “pwetty” curtains.
Does your family ever take staycations?