Seize the day! Make the most out of every opportunity! Don’t miss out! YOLO! FOMO! Aaaaahhhhh!
That’s a lot of pressure.
All of these thoughts run through our minds when we are travelling. When you have spent a lot of money to get somewhere, have very little time to visit it and will likely not return to wherever you are, the list of ‘must-dos’ is never-ending. How can we leave anything on the table? Of course we want to do, see, visit and experience EVERYTHING! But, no matter how organized you are, how perfectly you have set up your days, how eager and excited you are, things happen. Travel fatigue is real, and not just because of jet-lag.
Turkey | 2012
There are absolutely things you can do to generally keep up your energy stores – you know the ones – hydrate, have lots of snacks, stay out of the sun, etc. Yes, of course, do these. They work. For the most part. Then, when these aren’t working anymore, you start to take it up a notch and have your partner take the kids for ice cream while you sit on a bench and stare blankly ahead for 15 minutes. You find an air conditioned store that you just ‘have to’ go into and take a few minutes alone to look for, well, nothing. You ‘forget’ something in the room and have to run back up to…lie on the bed alone for 5 minutes. Ooh look! Street massages! All of these are valid tactics and we have maybe, er, absolutely, used each one of them.
Turkey | 2012
And yet, still, despite best efforts, continuing on can sometimes feel like a herculean task. This happened to me on the one and only day we set aside to be in Greece. The day started off great, we got on the early ferry in Turkey and had an uneventful ride across the sea to the Island of Lesbos. I would even say it was peaceful and relaxing. Within minutes of getting off the ferry, I hit a wall of epic proportions and there was no way I was going to be a fun travel companion, let alone any kind of help.
This was a hard decision for us to make because I really wanted to explore this island, experience some of the Greek culture, taste the Greek food and see the ruins littered around the island. I did not want to miss out on anything the kids would be doing. What if I missed out on the super funny thing? Or if something serious happened and I wasn’t there? Or if they saw something that made their faces light up with wonder and I couldn’t see that? Or what if Jason needed a break too? Ugh. Guilt is a nasty thing. And yet, I legitimately could not put one more foot in front of the other.
This is how we ended up in front of a cute little hotel. I got a day room, said good-bye to the family, locked myself in the room and I slept. I slept for 4 hours. I didn’t even roll over. It was glorious.
Greece | 2012
By the time Jason and the kids were done exploring, I was rested and we got back on the ferry to Turkey. I got to hear all about their day. Did I miss out on some really cool things? Yep. Did I miss seeing their faces light up? Yep. But, was it worth it? Also yep. What I didn’t anticipate was how cool it would be to have my 8 & 9 year olds tell me about their day in their own words, explaining to me what they saw and what they did and what they liked. Seeing them take ownership of their memories and then being able to see these cool things through their eyes. I got an experience I couldn’t have planned if I tried.
Greece | 2012
So, even though I never want to miss out on anything, sometimes taking a step back allows you to discover a whole new way to see the world. When you need a break, take a break.
Because sometimes a piece of a KitKat bar just isn’t enough.
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