Wanderlust Daydreams

I keep getting these e-mails from Living Social and Groupon for vacation “getaways.” Tropical resort destinations. Gorgeous, white sandy beaches. Clear blue-green waters. Spa packages. People whose only job is to bring you icy drinks at your beachside lounge chair.

It’s just mean, really.

I’ve also been reading “Eat, Pray, Love,” and just finished the section where the author spent four months eating her way through the best restaurants in Italy and learning Italian just because she wanted to. Granted, she went through a brutal divorce and battled terrible depression before that, so I can’t totally envy her. But still. I could eat my way through Italy for a few months.

Also, Havarti just went on a four-day business trip to Portland, which he does every year at this time. We decided that next year I should go with him and leave the moppets with the grandparents for the weekend. I could get my fill of my much-beloved alone time while he works, and then we can hang out and enjoy the lovely Northwest during his off time. Sounds perfectly heavenly.

So as I swept under the dining table for the umpteenth time today (five kids and three adults produce an alarming amount of crumbs), I started thinking about where I would go if I really could go anywhere – just me – for a week or two. There’s no shortage of options, since I pretty much want to go everywhere. The problem is that I’m always torn between going somewhere totally self-indulgent where I could literally do nothing but stare at the ocean and read a book, somewhere cozy and earthy where I could jump from coffee shop to coffee shop and write, somewhere historical and cultural where I could learn and experience a ton, and somewhere that has needs where I could serve and do some good.

Oh, and Scotland. For the accents as much as the greenery and castles. Lord have mercy, that brogue does things to me.

Is it a little pathetic that I feel torn in a bunch of different directions even in my daydream vacations?

It’s all for naught anyway. We’re saving up for a big family Disneyworld vacation next fall. That’s going to be awesome. I love Disneyworld. And Epcot has all those different countries, so it’s almost like traveling the world, right? 😉

Honestly, I can’t even make a list of the places I want to go. The phrase “anywhere but here” keeps going through my head. “Here” is actually great – I like where we live and have very little to complain about. But I’ve got a Wanderlust Self that my Practical Self keeps pinned down in a chokehold most of the time. She squeaks out her desperate pleas every once in a while, just to be let go – not to anywhere specific, just “anywhere but here.”

I think it’s time for a little family getaway again. We’ve been so busy I haven’t really noticed that it’s been a while since we’ve gotten away. It’s so good for all of us – the kids always come back from travel with some new leap in cognitive development. Maybe we’ll go to Springfield and finally see the Lincoln museum. Or up to Door County, which I’ve always heard is beautiful. Or maybe we’ll go see our friends in Michigan, or toss a pebble into a 4-hour radius of Chicago and see where it lands.

I’ll have to check with my Wanderlust Self to see what will suffice. 🙂

In the meantime, I’ll be traipsing around the world in my mind . . .

 If you enjoyed this post, please pass it along. You can follow Motherhood and More on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.