It's so easy to get stuck in a rut of the same old routine over and over. Go to work, work hard for your money to try to make a living, come home, rest, repeat. I've found myself in this rut for a while and I just needed to get away. Luckily, my parents have some property in the country about 2 and half hours from where I live. Some good friends and I wanted to go and I asked my parents and they said that would be fine. So last Thursday, we packed our bags up into my car and left.
As soon as we got there things were already better. It was out in the country so the hustle and bustle and crowds were gone. It was sunny, clear, beautiful and peaceful. It was a great escape from my job, my home, doing the same things over and over, and all the stuff you don't realize really is bogging you down. I immediately felt more relaxed than I have in a long while. It was like a weight I didn't fully realize the full heaviness of had been lifted from my shoulders. I am not in a bad point in my life. I am not down or depressed. I have my moments but overall I am doing very well. That doesn't mean I still don't need my escape.
The time spent there was simple. A lot of media and such make vacations out to be like they have to be wild and fully of partying. Yes, that can be fun and that definitely works for some but not for everyone. Sometimes it's best to just get away and relax and that's what we did. We went out to get food, got in the river to relax, went on a hike and made good use of our time. However, some of the best moments were just sitting out on the porch overlooking the land under a open starry sky and just having good conversations. We had some fairly deep "men" talk. I am not going to go into any kind of detail because it's a very much "What happens in Vegas" deal but it was nice to openly talk about those sort of things without judgment, ridicule or some macho attitude of "GRRRR, MEN TOUGH! MEN NO SHARE FEELINGS! GRRRRR!" It was also nice to realize other people had the same kind of feelings and were dealing with a lot of the same issues as I am.
Even after returning home I have been sleeping a lot easier. Yes, some of that, especially on the first night was the general tiredness from the vacation itself as well as all the driving I was doing. Still, most of it was just being relaxed, having gotten away from all the stupid daily bullshit. I can't stress enough how important it is to treat yourself and go on vacation. We work so hard in an shitty economy that has people struggling to just live. Do your best to make time for a vacation, get out, get away and enjoy it. When you're old you aren't going to be telling stories about the super fun times working all the time. You will need stories of times when you actually had fun and were able to live life.