Recently, my husband and I decided to take a short little vacation to a small town in NC called Beaufort. It is on the water (yes, that pic above was taken on our trip!) and it is very quaint and relaxing. We stayed only 2 nights and celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary there. We didn't spend a ton of money, and didn't even plan a lot to do while we were there. And it was just what the doctor ordered.
You see, I am not only a stay at home mom, but I am a health/fitness coach where I am, thankfully, able to do all of my work from home. This means that while my daughter is in preschool twice a week for 3 hours, or on the days where she does actually still nap, I am working. Usually to be seen with my iPad mini or laptop, immersed in helping my own coaches grow their businesses and/or engaging in my online fitness and nutrition private Facebook groups, helping those who have chosen to invest in their own health. It is fun, it is challenging. And it has turned into something that God gave me to help me not only better myself and our own family's health, but it also has turned into a way for me to glorify Him through helping others. I could go on and on about this, but that goes back to the main point of this little blog: needing to take a vacation.
So, in the busyness of life, we could have decided to just go out to dinner for our anniversary and ask my parents to keep our daughter for the night. But, we looked into some places less than a 2 hours drive away and found a great deal in Beaufort at the Beaufort Inn. We were walking distance to everything we needed and didn't use the car the whole weekend. We woke up on Saturday morning, after indulging in an amazing dinner and dessert the night before, and went for a jog around the historic district. We stumbled upon a flea market and walked around, not having to worry about our 2-1/2 year old getting into everything. I didn't even have to say "don't touch" once! Ha!
The moral of the story is that I relaxed. Unplugged. Didn't think about coaching for 3 days (ok, I might have thought about it a few times, but I kept it to myself!) And it felt great. I was present in life and actually felt more refreshed when I got back to "work" on Monday.
If you are looking for a permission slip to take a vacation, here it is! Go, unplug, have fun, enjoy the outdoors and God's beautiful creation!
And if you need more proof on why should take a vacation, check out these 4 reasons why it is healthy to take a vacation (from prevention.com):
1. You’ll be happier. Who doesn’t wake up a bit more chipper on a Saturday morning than a dreaded Monday? Women who don’t take regular vacations are up to three times more likely to be depressed than their vacationing counterparts, according to researchers from the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin.
2. Your heart will thank you. Men who take regular vacations are 32 percent less likely to die of heart attacks, and 21 percent less likely to die early. And women who go on vacation have a 50 percent lower risk of heart attack, finds the Framingham Heart Study.
3. You'll get sick less often. Carving out time off keeps you balanced, says Robinson. Stress squashes your immune system and has been shown to increase your odds of suffering from adrenal dysfunction, headaches, and irritable bowel syndrome , Robinson adds.
4. You’ll stay forever young. Or at least not age any faster: Not taking a break can elevate the amount of the stress hormone cortisol in your body. And cortisol may actually speed up the aging process, according to a recent study in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
Are you planning your vacation? Or are you now ready to start planning? Comment here and let me know what you are planning!
- Ashley
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