My bags are packed (mostly) and all that is left is for us to eat some Thanksgiving leftovers for dinner, have a good night of sleep and drive to the airport in the morning.
The last three weeks of unemployment have been much busier than anticipated. Every single day I’ve had a long ‘to do’ list of stuff – from freelance jobs to grocery shopping. However, starting tomorrow when I step onto that cruise ship I am doing absolutely NOTHING but relaxing.
For anyone who knows me, I’m sure you are not even a little bit surprised that we’re going on vacation. Vacations are my weakness and I love getting away to someplace new, or even better, someplace sunny with turquoise blue water and clean, white sand.
What may surprise you is the fact that we decided to spend the money on a vacation when I’m unemployed and pregnant.
Believe me; I really, really love to look at money just sitting in my savings account. Oooh, or even more, I love adding money to my savings account. It’s like my little safety net that allows me to sleep at night without waking up and hyperventilating that we’re going to be homeless and hungry.
So, why on earth would we decide to purchase a 7 day cruise to the Caribbean? Well, a bunch of reasons actually.
First off, if you’ve been reading this blog you know that we’ve had a really stressful few months. Finding out that I was going to lose my job of more than 6 years was a real bummer. Selling our house was pretty awesome, but packing up and moving within 60 days was pretty crazy. Add on top of that the fact that I’m preggo and you’ve got a ball of super-stress going on in my body.
My husband has been going through everything with me (even some of the pregnancy symptoms…hmmm…), on top of working 6 days a week. We haven’t even had a chance to see much of each other, and we’re those crazy kinds of people where we really LIKE each other and want to hang out.
So stress is definitely the top reason that we decided to go away for a week. However, this is also pretty much our last chance to get away before our baby is born. Most cruise lines won’t even allow a pregnant woman to cruise after her 24th week, and I’ll hit the 21 week marker while we’re on our trip.
Lastly, that freelance work I mentioned pays really well. On top of that, we even got a couple unexpected checks back after the sale of our house. So instead of adding that money to our savings account like a demented squirrel hiding away nuts, we decided to get a little crazy and actually spend it.
Oh yeah, there is one more reason I’m not freaking out about spending money on a vacation right now. I got a job that starts up the Monday after we get back. And not just a job like, “oh, it’s work and it pays money, so I’ll take it”. I mean a JOB that I’m super excited about and can not wait to start! I’ve been holding back on mentioning it until I get my written offer (which will be coming next week while I’m sunning myself on the beach), but since I have a start date I feel pretty secure in announcing the awesome news. I’ll share more info when I return.
The moral of the story is that sometimes you need to just give yourself a break.
If vacations are your crack, go for it. If buying a new transmission for your race car and ripping the thing apart is your thing, have at it*. We’re only on this earth once and sometimes the best choice is the one that will make you happy. The funny thing is, I planned this trip a few weeks before I knew I’d be coming back to a job. In fact, I was prepared to go with the worst-case scenario of not working until after the baby is born. So, this is proof that things really DO happen for a reason.
With the holiday season coming up, most of us get stressed out with the shear magnitude of tasks that need to get completed on top of everyday life. So, I’m giving you permission to go and do something for yourself with the sole reason of making yourself happy.
*Pretty much the only reason I feel comfortable using this example is because my husband does not read my blog. Otherwise, he would come straight to me from the computer and jump up and down with excitement that he’s getting a new transmission.