Leaving and Coming Back

This past week (really, since June 24, through yesterday, July 4) I was on vacation. It was lovely and a restful and a much-needed break from the everyday. Work, in particular, was beginning to wear on me emotionally and psychologically. Before last week, I hadn't had a true vacation with my family for about three years -- the last being a Disney World trip in May of 2019. I had taken some breaks between then and now, but they were nearly all to visit family.

On this trip, the majority of our time was spent on South Padre Island. We built sand castles, sat on the sand, boogie boarded on the waves (there were some monsters on the day after a storm out in the Gulf!), napped, fished, played video games, and read books. I also really tried to mitigate my phone use. Deleted my email app, deleted access to the internet (including social media, because God, what a week it must have been after the SCOTUS decision), and generally just tried to stay off. It was truly delightful.

What struck me during this trip the most was just how alive I felt when I was using my body in the ocean. The saltwater, harsh as it can be, somehow positvely affected my brain. Perhaps it was just the act of being on vacation. But it did seem to be specific to actually being in the water. Boogie boarding -- something I hadn't really tried before -- was also more fun than I thought. If you catch a wave at just the right time, you can really go, really feel like you are being carried by something bigger than yourself. Not to get too overly sentimental about it. After all, it was just fun.

But perhaps that is it. The fun that I had on the trip (and really, can't forget the naps... they were great) was a balm for my soul. It helped to remind me that using my body, especially sensing the world and responding to it and being outdoors is just plain good for me. It makes me want to prioritize that more in my everyday life. We can't always be on vacation. That's just the nature of the beast.

My goals coming back from vacation are relatively simple, though they may prove difficult as I fall back into the swing of things:

1. Change phone habits. To help with this, I'm turning my phone black and white, putting it in a constant state of Do Not Disturb, and keeping internet access and email access off for now.
2. More activity. I am nursing a hip injury from running before vacation. While on vacation, I didn't run at all, but I don't seem to be fully recovered yet. But instead of running, I just used my body in lots of other ways. In the hopes of getting better with my hip and break up the monotony and become more well-rounded physically, I would like to start doing other things too -- biking, swimming, rowing, and eventually running again once I'm better.
3. Think about my future. Again, I know life can't be all vacation all the time. But being away gave me the opportunity to think some about what I'm doing with my life. Is this much screen time really what I want for myself? I'm essentially at it like this all day long without much of a break. But I'm happier when I'm doing things physically. Is that something I need to think about? We'll see.

Overall, vacation was a really great experience for me and for Elaine and the girls. We feel, I think, rested and content and the post-vacation blues aren't too bad. I'd like to use that positive energy to spur me on to purposeful and intentional action.

Tagged: vacation, individualism,