We Need a Vacation

by Amy Hamblin

I came across an article the other day about what you can do to keep romance in your marriage.  I always love to read those articles just to see how many of the things they list are things that my husband and I already do.  One of the things listed was to take a vacation without your kids.

My husband and I have been married for 12 years this August and are more in love than ever.  We spend a lot of time together and never get bored of each other.  We have great respect for each other and love sometimes to just sit and talk to each other but we don’t get a lot of just US time.  We have two young kids and we adore them.  Family time is very important in our home and we have a lot of it.  However, every once in a while it is nice for my husband and I to get away.  When I say once in a while I mean twice in the 10 years that we have been parents.  One of these two times was last week.  Score one for us on that list!

I want to give you a little review of our trip in hopes that it will inspire more of you to take time to reconnect with your spouse or for you single parents out there it will give you time to refocus, whether you go by yourself or with a friend, so that you will have the energy to be a better parent when you get back.

We went on a Mexican Rivera Cruise!  First we visited Cabo San Lucas.  It is a beautiful city with so many things to do.  We got to check many things off our “To Do” list.  Riding wave runners in the Pacific Ocean was one of my favorite things.  My husband loved parasailing.  Be willing to have fun doing what you both like.  Take turns picking excursions and have an open mind about the other choice.  There is time and you don’t have to worry about kids.  Next, we stopped in Puerto Vallarta.  It is also a beautiful city.  We went zip lining and we both loved it but we loved the drive up into the mountains almost as much.  If gave us time to be together and realize how much we have to be thankful for.  The people there were living in such humble circumstances but we got nothing but kindness and respect from everyone that we met.

Spending time on the ship was also like something out of a fairytale.  Having time to enjoy each others company, sit out and enjoy the sun, eat without having to cook or do dishes, go to a show without worrying about being home a certain hour and best of all sleeping all night long and not worrying about sleepwalking children or whatever your children’s sleeping issues are. 

A cruise is a long time and it isn’t cheap but you could do something shorter, cheaper and closer to home.  Find a time and a way to get away just the two of you for a little while and when you come back not only will you be happy to see your children but you will have spent time and perhaps rekindled a romance with that special person in your life.