Vacations are not relaxing anymore. We have made a lot of accommodations to our home to make life easier for us and those accommodations can’t come with us. Going anywhere takes more time planning as I arrange for hotels and transportation in advance of any trips. Even with all the careful work in advance, once we get to the location it takes a day to adjust to the new environment. Often, I find that what I was told about the site may not be quite accurate. I think of rooms where the grab bars are being used as towel racks and the only restaurant onsite isn’t open for breakfast. The time the bathroom was so small that I had to stand in the shower stall to help my husband get off the toilet. I always try to plan for the best but still need to be ready for the worst to happen.

Going on vacation is not only exhausting for me, it wears out my husband too. I find that the optimum timeframe for a vacation is 5 days. The first day is travel and the second day is adjusting to the new location. Days 3 and 4 we actually get to enjoy our stay, as much as possible in our current reality. Day 5 we are travelling home and then he spends a couple more days just recovering from the trip while I am getting caught back up with chores. Maybe it just isn’t worth the hassle anymore?

I recently started thinking about what a vacation might mean, what would I need to truly relax? It would be someone else preparing our meals. It might mean visiting a pretty location and taking a walk. It would definitely mean taking a break from chores to sit in the shade and read a good book without feeling guilty. There are lots of local restaurants I want to try, we have some great parks and a lovely riverwalk, I have lounges and a shade tree in my own backyard. I can easily create this at home, I think it’s time I figured out how to take a staycation.