Well, vacation has come and gone. I always find myself wanting to stay longer but longing to be home with my own stuff, including my bed. I had a great time with my husband. I feel relaxed, rested and ready for summer school.(ok, as ready as I can be for another semester) But it didn't start out that way.
We wrapped up Parker's birthday party at the skate park on Saturday, kissed our kids good-bye and went on our way. Heading east towards the beach, sun, and rest. We arrived at our hotel, got checked in and quickly became disappointed and irritated. My husband booked our trip. He planned everything. I wanted it like that. I just wanted to pack my bag and leave. No worries about entertaining us or what if my husband wanted to do something that I didn't know about....etc. My husband searched the internet and found a hotel that he liked and they even had a "romance" package available. He booked that package. It was to include room service breakfast, dinner, chocolates, rose petals, movie tickets and a late check out time. My thought was, sounds good to me!
As we walked down the hall to our room I realized that our room was going to be on the street side not the ocean side. Call me crazy but when someone books a "romance" package you'd think a view of, oh I don't know, the ocean would be more romantic than the view of the parking lot. Once I opened the door to the room I felt like I stepped back in time to an episode of the Golden Girls. The bedspread was palm leaves and looked like it had been there since the 80's. On the bed were two nice robes for us to use and a gift bag that included a trial size package of Hersey kisses, a box of rose petals, and bath salts. We then discovered that our room was a handicap room and didn't even have a tub for us to use the bath salts in. My husband was upset that he didn't get the accommodations that he thought we would and I felt full of anxiety. I wanted to see a view of the relaxing ocean. I felt like vacation was at my finger tips, right across the hall and yet I couldn't reach it. Once we both took it for what it was, took a breath, we knew we had the most important thing we needed for the trip. Each other. The room was crappy at first but we couldn't change that.
We called the desk to see if we could move rooms but there wasn't anything available ocean side until the next day. I decided that the enemy was not going to steal our relaxing vacation. We agreed that it wasn't what we had hoped for but it is what it is and we would make the best of it. Upon the minor irritations from the lack of accommodations I said to my husband "this is the enemy trying to get in the middle of us having a relaxing time." I didn't even consider that thought until the words were out of my mouth. There were many times the enemy has stolen our quality time together and refused to let him do it again this time. I put my big girl panties on, changed my attitude, and encouraged my husband. I even told him he could pick our accommodations the next time. He laughed and said "yes, after you check it out first." For the record, I will let him pick the accommodations the next time and I won't check behind him any more than I did this time. Regardless of what the room looked like I knew what his intentions were. That's what mattered to me.
So then the hunt for what to eat for dinner began. We ended up at a restaurant that had a seafood buffet. My husband isn't a big seafood fan so he was less than thrilled with dinner. But again, it is what it is and we went on our way. We went to our crappy hotel room, snuggled up and enjoyed the quiet of no children and just being with each other. We talked about going to the lounge for a drink but fell asleep.(the 1980's comforter was on the floor because I couldn't stand the thought of all the bodily fluids that must be on it) The next morning we ordered room service breakfast and was the BOMB! I highly encourage everyone to have breakfast delivered at least once in their life. Once we left the hotel we discovered that it was really windy and COLD. Neither of us brought a jacket although we did bring pants. We did a little shopping, went to a movie, dinner at the hotel, and completed the night with a soak in the hot tub. When we handed the waiter our tickets for dinner on the last night we were at the hotel the waiter said "congratulations, are you just engaged?" I replied that we were married for 13 years, that my husband just came back from Afghanistan and we were enjoying a trip with no children.(thanks to my awesome mom who comes and holds down the fort while we get away) The waiter thanked my husband for his service, we chatted a bit and headed for the hot tub. I stopped to gaze at the view from our hotel room. AMAZING. I should mention that we moved rooms about mid-day on the second day we were there. It was worth the wait.
Yesterday we spent touring the Wright Brother's museum, looking at lighthouses and enjoying local restaurants for lunch and dinner. It was a trip that we both needed so much. We didn't have any big long discussions about life or goals or anything really. We were just still with each other.
One of the best parts of the trip, NO PHONE CALLS FROM THE KIDS. Now, that may sound strange to some of you. My children have a habit of calling me to tell on one of their siblings in hopes to get me to yell at the one they are not happy with. There are many days I can't make it to the front of the subdivision before I receive a phone call.
I'm so thankful for our time together. I'm thankful that after 15 years of being together we are comfortable enough with each other that we can just sit and be still with each other. I'm thankful for my mom who always uses some of her vacation to come and stay with our children. When you have a chance to get away with your spouse, take it. Even if you have circumstances to overcome it will be worth it. You will leave feeling renewed and strengthened as a couple. I can't wait for the next trip. Although we did learn on this trip that we aren't beach people. We are mountains people. On the next trip we will head west. If you aren't sure what type of people you are just pick a direction and go. It will be an adventure you will never forget.
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