The Importance of Vacations--Even for the Unemployed

Whether an actual 'vacation' our 'staycation', an occasional break from the dailyness of life can prove beneficial to any human. I happen to be between jobs after my position was eliminated following a subsidiary merger. I have been exploring several fee-for-service earning options in the interim, but so far, nothing close to a living is being made. That plus daily combing through hundreds of emails relating to the job hunt--PLUS volunteer tasks which occasionally feel like a full-time job--often make for a busier life than I had before! 

That's why--for the first time in our 29 years together--my husband Bret and I made the decision to take advantage of one of his work-related trips, add a couple extra days, have me tag along and call it a working vacation--we're on it right now, as I write this. Why am I writing instead of touring our Nation's Capitol? Because my self-imposed end-of-month deadline has turned into the beginning of the next month! 

I'm also waiting for Bret to finish payroll and ensure there are no fires to put out. He's a school principal and we're in Washington, DC for him to accept a National award his school won.

I'm finding it interesting how hard it is for me to leave my 'work' behind. This may also be due to 'achiever' being in my top five (see StrengthsFinder.com). However, walking for miles, photo-documenting monuments and reading museum plaques can also feed my achiever, so I'm sure it'll take my mind off life for awhile...

Break here while we visit the Ronald Reagan/International Trade Center, Holocaust Museum, National Monument, World War I Memorial, World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, etc.

Wow. What a day! By the time we made it back to the hotel at nearly 8 PM, we were soaking wet from several on again off again rain showers and one HUGE downpour, during which both our phones buzzed flash flood warnings! However, without the rain, my comments would remain the same. Wow. What a day! Just one day of sight-seeing has made this trip worthwhile. If you've never been and get the chance to visit DC--take it.

I'm very thankful for this opportunity as I hadn't realized how much we both needed to just get away from the heaviness of life for awhile. Knowing how hard it is to make something like this happen when you're unemployed makes me doubly grateful. Vacations--even the very cheapest of sorts if money is scarce--truly are important, for the physical and mental renewal we all need to maintain a healthy human experience. The next chance you have for such a break, I hope you'll take it!

Today's Quote: 

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." 

-- Maya Angelou