Summer break excitement fills the air in our communities. School is out; vacations are planned, many changes abound. Spring has awakened the flowers; hay is tall in the fields, farm animals and wild creatures are caring for their new babies; it is a time of new beginnings.
For family caregivers, summer can be a good thing. Perhaps you are one that will benefit from the availability of youth helping you this summer; or be relieved of the stress of dealing with school schedules as you care for someone. You may get time off for yourself with all this extra help available.
On the other hand, summer may simply mean more mouths to feed during the day, more laundry, more stress. Maybe you would like to go on a vacation but know in your heart even one full day for you is out of the question.
I want to help you celebrate the wonders of summer, even with a busy schedule and overwhelming responsibilities. You’ve heard me say this before, take a few minutes for yourself-by yourself to consider your personal wants and needs.
1. Determine one thing that would help your days and weeks go smoother; just one thing. What is it that takes you away for a brief respite? Settle on one thing.
2. Plan a specific time to do that one thing at least one hour of each week. Schedule it and keep that schedule as much as possible.
3. Call this time–even one hour–your vacation. Plan for it, celebrate it and look forward to the next week for another ‘vacation’.
Some of you I am sure are thinking this is too simple and cannot be of any value to your already hectic lifestyle. I simply ask you to try it, please. I did not think it of value either until I was taxed to the limit and had to find even the smallest event to look forward to each week.
Consider these starters for fun vacation ideas for one hour or more if you can spare it.
1. Do you have a friend or relative that you keep meaning to call but never get around to it? Why not make that your destination for next week. During the week as he or she comes to mind, jot down thoughts about them, perhaps questions you’d like to ask or things you want to tell them. Find all the positive things you can to jot down and be prepared to have fun with this call. Remember, it’s not an interview, it’s a vacation!
2. Do you have a destination in mind, another state you’d like to visit? Schedule that later in the month so you can order a brochure from them. On vacation day, fix an appropriate snack and enjoy the scenery as you look through their catalog. There’s no harm in picking out some favorite spots for that someday when you will have adequate time than to visit there.
3. What is there in your life you would like to accomplish for yourself? Write a story or poem? Draw or paint? Do a craft? Start now with your vacation day. Begin with the dream and build on it.
A reminder: choose one thing only for your first mini-vacation. You may want to use that one choice for several weeks and that is okay. Have fun and let me hear from you.