For Davida: Do Something For You
>> Sunday, April 5, 2009
Davida asked: Ok. Danny and I have read your view on my needing time “off” and agree that it better be sooner rather than later. So, now he keeps asking me what I want to do. I haven’t a clue. He’s trying to help me get away and I have no idea what I want to do or where I want to go that won’t be too costly. If $$ were no object, I’d be gone this afternoon. Any suggestions?
I can make suggestions for things to do for a few hours or a day, things I enjoy, like perhaps a spa day or going to a play with friends, but I’m not a vacation person personally. I take my time in small doses. That doesn’t, by the way, mean there’s anything wrong with getting a bigger chunk.
In this, I’m limited to the way my imagination works. I, for instance, might spend a couple of days in Galveston or Corpus Christy. In Galveston, I’d see if there was a bed and breakfast in good repair (per Ike) and I’d go exploring other older buildings and sites in Galveston. At Corpus, of course, it’s all about the beach. Or, for relatively little money (~$250-400, which isn’t much more than a couple of nights in a good motel), I’d see if I could find a quick 2-3 day cruise. A lot of time, they have last minute cancellations so you can get good deals at the last minute. Or you could go to San Antonio for a couple of days, check out the river walk and Sea World. But those are the kind of things that might appeal to me. Or, if I had a family member that lived within long driving distance (or a reasonable flying distance), I might go visit a sister or a cousin, an aunt or a good college friend I don’t often see.
But examples or suggestions are really dependent on who you are and those reflect who I am. I suspect that this time to yourself is about finding Davida again, reaffirming your Davida-ness. I can’t tell you who that is or the best way to find her.
But you can do so by asking yourself a few questions like, what did you used to do to unwind before you got married. I’m not talking about dating, but things you might go do with a good girlfriend or on a long weekend during in college. Maybe there was someone you were close to, in the sort of way you loved who you were when you were with that person, that you could visit. In the end, think about the person you were before you married, or the sort of thing you did before you had children when your husband did his thing and you did yours. That’s where I’d focus my attention.
(Lee, by the way, likes to camp).
I hope that helps.
2 Responses to “Doing Something For You”
It may be, Davida, that you need time alone, too. If you want to go with somebody else, that would save half the expense of a hotel, and you could pack food so that you don’t spend more money on that than normal.
My favorite “vacation” is a day of writing at a local coffee shop (we have quite a few of those in Seattle!)… so, for the cost of a lunch somewhere and a few coffees, I can write all day, watch people as they come in, write some more, and totally relax.
It’s really about finding what feeds your own soul. If it’s movies, buy tickets to a film, then to another, then another, and spend the whole day at the theatre. You can splurge on the big popcorn and drink, since you get free refills with them, and otherwise, have a great time for not that much money. Renting movies for a day can also work, if you can get a room to yourself. Some kiosks rent movies for 24 hours for a buck per movie (VERY cheap!).
Hope you find something. It’s hard to know what you want when it’s been years since you thought of yourself (I know from experience). Then again, that’s an adventure in itself.
I would spend my time at the beach and I wouldn’t do anything hectic like a cruise or driving all day–I would sleep late, walk the beach, wait for high tide and walk the beach some more, or just sit on the beach and listen to the ocean. It always takes away all my stress.