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Why do people think it’s a good idea to go on vacation together? I mean, we see our friends and family pretty much all the time—all our personal time, anyway. And if we all work together at the same company, well that’s…uh, well, that’s a topic for another time. But all that to say, if I see these people several times a month, why do I want to go on vacation with them? Maybe I’m going on vacation to get away from them.
Before you think I’m a curmudgeon (a word I heard frequently this last week, to describe various prickly movie characters—not me. Although, you may be thinking if the shoe fits…), please bear with me during my rant. I have a method to my madness—at least in my mind, anyway.
I just returned from a perfectly good vacation. John and I traveled to…uh, somewhere. Honestly, depending on when you’re reading this, it could be a whole other vacation. But I’m writing this after we finished a week in Galveston, Texas. And we had a fabulous time, believe me! Except that…
We really irritated each other. Now stay with me, and hear my side of the story. I love my husband—I truly do! He is a go with the flow kind of person, not too concerned with what goes where, but always seeing the good in everyone, even the waitress who forgot to put in our order. And bring our check. All the things that drive me crazy on vacation.
Is it the more confining spaces bringing everything up close and personal? They can make everyone too...well, up close and personal. Is that what irritates the fire out of me? Maybe. We pulled a camper, which took six hours because of lower speeds and more frequent stops for gas. But I read my latest book to John, and we sang to the radio. No, I don’t think that was it. We love road trips and 80’s music and reading to each other.
Was it the camper itself? Maybe. We had less space to move around, less space to cook and store things. But we also had all the space outside the camper, and we had the lazy river at the RV park, and all the restaurants we splurged and frequented, not to mention all the places we toured and visited. No, that wasn’t it. We loved that part of the vacation.
Or was it that we spent every blessed moment together? Maybe. My sister-in-law joined us, driving down from Houston while her kids were with their father. And we spent time with her new fella, but that’s a topic for another time. We tried new dishes and sang karaoke (maybe also a topic for another time, but I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about that experience). No, that wasn’t it. We loved Charli and her new guy Michael. Especially John...yet another topic for another time.
And then it hit me! It was all those things together. Yes, we had boat loads (camper loads?) of fun doing every single thing we did. But we did it all together. No break, no time away, no being alone. Yes, that might be the issue.
I invited our kids to take a cruise with us next summer. They said “Yes, that sounds like fun. But will we have our own rooms? And free time during this vacation? Because, Mom, you’re great and everything, but we don’t all enjoy doing the same things. We’re going to need some time apart, so we don’t drive each other crazy.”
Hmmm…you know…we might just survive that vacation, and come back home actually speaking to each other.