I’m going to be on vacation next week! I’m rather looking forward to it! Vacations are a time to step out of routine. Sometimes that is best accomplished by going away. When we are in a totally different environment, it helps us to get out of our usual rut. We can’t be getting up and showered, then eat breakfast and off to work when we’re someplace else entirely. We have new things to do every day, new sights to see and people to meet. If we stay at home it takes a more conscious effort to do things differently.
Sometimes I’ve been fortunate in going camping for my vacation. Everything takes a bit more of an effort when I’m camping! I don’t have hot running water, so doing the dishes means getting the kettle started. Having a shower doesn’t mean just stepping into the shower area and picking up the shampoo. You have to figure out what you need first and pack it up, then what you are planning on wearing afterwards. Try not to forget your towel! Sometimes it is a bit of a walk to the shower facility. It all just takes a bit more thought and planning! When I return home, I definitely appreciate having access to hot running water again!
Planning meals is a bit more complicated as well. I tend to go shopping and get my usual pantry, fridge and freezer items, then decide on each day what I want to have for supper. Sometimes I’ll make enough for two meals, then have the leftovers the second day. When camping I have a one cubic foot refrigerator, and no freezer. I have to plan my meals carefully because if I’m not careful, I won’t have enough fridge space for them. If we went out to eat and brought the leftovers home, there often wasn’t enough space to keep them cool until the next day. Reheating was also a challenge!
I remember when I got my silver jeep. With my smaller black jeep I had to be very careful of how much weight I was pulling, so carried as little as possible in the trailer. The first thing I bought for my trailer when I wasn’t worried about that any more was a microwave oven. That really changed what I could cook and how I could re-heat things! It is a challenge without an oven or a microwave! Sometimes I really had to think out of the box!
Every now and again it is important to shake ourselves up, to encourage ourselves to get creative. Sometimes that means more planning for activities or food preparation, and sometimes it means more unstructured time. It can take a few days to get into a vacation headspace. I’m just taking my final week of last years’ holidays next week at the end of June. My next pastoral year begins in July, so I’m taking five weeks then as well. I have four weeks of holidays and one week of study leave, starting July 24th. So I’m back to work for three weeks in July then off again.
I hope that all of you have a chance to have some vacation time this summer as well! A chance to step back from routine and to relax!
