"Vacation at Home": Yeah Right!

So-called “staycations” are becoming more and more popular these days, especially as our economic woes make it more difficult for many of us to travel.  This week, our office administrator is vacationing from home. And that got me thinking about how, in my view, the “staycation” is not really the relaxing experience it’s intended to be.

Don’t get me wrong, I love lazy days at home when I can read the paper, snack, watch movies, etc.  Sadly, my time for such pursuits is extremely limited.  Given this, you’d think I’d be really psyched for the chance to spend a week off from work at home, right?

 Not as much as I'd hoped.

I had this opportunity earlier this summer when Anna’s day care closed for one of its two vacation weeks each year. I envisioned taking her to the beach every sunny day, napping, and simply enjoying this leisure time.

Instead, I ended up running errands, doing obligatory family stuff, cleaning, and things of that nature.  The only bright spot was all the Anna playtime I got.  

The not-so-bright spots were all the forced activities and responsibilities I had to contend with because this was the only time in the foreseeable future when I could squeeze them in.  Heidi couldn’t stay home with us because she has already used up her time off this year, and our friends’ plans to visit fell through.  

C’est la vie.

I decided to take Anna to visit Uncle Keith for a couple of days so that at least we’d get a little time away. I LOVE road trips. When I was younger, before parenthood and law school debt, I used to go on weekend trips to see various friends at least once a month.  But I’ve done that only a handful of times in the last few years, and I miss it sometimes.  

Ironically, it has little to do with Anna – she’s a pretty good traveler and she likes going places with us. Now, it’s usually money issues and lack of opportunity that stand in our way of taking short road trips or anything resembling a “real” vacation.   

Heidi and I haven’t been on an actual vacation for more than a long weekend in all the time we’ve been together (over 6 years!), with the exception of one glorious week in Cape Cod made possible by the generosity of a special friend.  We're the only couple I know in our circle of friends that hasn't had at least one week-long trip together to some kind of resort destination.

I really do wish I was one of those people that could truly be satisfied with the staycation, especially given our limited budget, but it’s tough. It’s just not relaxing if you’re the “maid” – if everywhere you look, there are reminders of chores that need to be done: dirty dishes to be washed, laundry to be done, pets to be cleaned up after, toys everywhere….all of this is a recipe for stress, not relaxation. 

It doesn’t send the message, “Ahhh, vacation.”  It says to me:  “Welcome to any old day of your life.”  There’s nothing different, nothing decadent, nothing worth waiting a year of anticipation for….you get my drift.

That’s why I love those rare trips, however brief, where we can stay in hotels – someone makes my bed and cleans up after me every day for a change, not the other way around. Other people usually cook our meals. Everything is neat and it’s not my job to keep it that way. THAT is how I want my vacations to feel.

Photo credit:  Conrad Maldives

 

Chores?  Who cares!  We usually eat in restaurants.  Any dirty laundry goes into a big plastic bag to be forgotten until we get home.  It doesn’t overflow from my clothes hamper, mocking me as I vacation from home – “You’re not really on vacation, hahaha. Wash me!”

 

I suppose what I want for a vacation is the ideal I’d want every day if I could really be in several places at once and do it all. I want a pristine environment without clutter, crumbs and pet hair. I want trendy, yet classic décor. I want furniture that didn’t come from Wal-Mart.  I want tons of channels on the TV for free.  If I can only have these things by staying in some hotel once every few years, fine –but damn it, I’m going to do it whenever we can!

Hmmm, we should probably start playing the lottery.

Do any of you “staycationers” have any tips about how to make the stay-at-home time off more enjoyable, more vacationlike?  I’d love it if you did because a Caribbean getaway is not on our horizon anytime soon.