Friday, June 20, 2014

MIA

So while I've been off working hard and vacationing hard, the blog has been a little neglected. It's just been a busy few weeks around our little house. Summer is here and it's easily the most packed time of our entire year. In the last few weeks we've celebrated my birthday, Jordan's birthday, my sister's birthday, Father's day... we've gone to the pool almost daily, to the park, to the beach, to the store... we've played in the back yard, in the front yard, with the water hose, with some little friends. Basically, every minute has been consumed with things. Thankfully, they've mostly been fun, memory-making things.

On the flip side, the blog has fallen to the lowest rung of my priority list. (obviously.) Nap times -when I previously got most of my blogging accomplished- are now useful for cleaning up the house, prepping dinner, folding laundry, or simply zoning out on the couch, just getting my own much needed rest. I'm already checking the current time, estimating the amount of nap I have left and panicking a little on the inside because I'm wasting my productive time blogging rambling about how busy we've been recently!

I am particularly thankful that Jordan and I got to carve out a weekend together -  it was SO needed! Jordan's parents came and stayed with Isaac and Mauve while we spent a long weekend in San Antonio. (I'm also thankful that we were there the weekend that the Spurs were playing in Miami.) We went back to the Mokara Hotel & Spa because we just loved it so much the first time we visited, and it was just as lovely as we remembered. Jordan and I slept until we woke up each morning, laid around the pool, walked the river, ate until we were uncomfortably stuffed, went to a movie, shopped all day, and just enjoyed spending time together. Once again, we were slugs with no real agenda. Honestly, I wanted to stay just one more day. But Isaac was so happy to see both of us again and spent the next 48 hours clinging to one or both of us. It was a sweet little reunion after being apart for 3 days.
Rooftop Pool. New book in hand. Lazy status achieved. #obligatoryfootpic
A funny thing happened while we were in San Antonio... every single day, we were repeatedly hit up by groups looking to book timeshare previews. I never really thought of San Antonio as being such a mecca for timeshares, but apparently, it was a big deal. We were promised all sorts of goodies... free meals, free drinks, free riverboat rides, free carriage rides, money, vacations, and the list goes on and on. I was never a fan of this. Give up 2 hours of my hard-earned vacation? To be pressured into buying a timeshare? Oh NO. Jordan on the other hand was enchanted by the very first person who approached us. So, being the incredibly awesome wife that I am, I agreed to play along on the last morning we were there. The agency assured us we'd be back to our hotel by checkout, and really, we probably would have just lazed around the room for a few hours anyway. So off we go to hear of incredible deals and how to save thousands of dollars on your vacations!!! It was too good to be true (and it was. The prices... eek!).

We walked away with a couple of great perks and I came to an interesting realization in the process. See, over and over again, we were bombarded with this emotionally pulling idea of "making time for your family" and "creating lasting memories with your children" and "rekindling the spark with your spouse," all while on a vacation.

And I couldn't help but think how sad it would be for me to have to go on a vacation to make memories with Isaac.

Or to have a romantic evening with my husband.

Or to put my family first.

Maybe this IS a reality for some families. Maybe that is a huge draw to spending thousands of dollars a year on vacations... for us, going on a true vacation is a luxury. And I would gladly continue to work part time and rarely go on vacations so that I can spend a majority of my days investing much more than a glitzy destination into my son. I love making memories with him on a daily basis! I love going on dates with my husband! I hope that as Isaac grows up, that he always knows how much importance we place on each other as a family every single day, not just one week out of the year.

How are YOU investing into your family each day?

1 comment:

Kelli @ A Deeper Joy said...

Such a good point, Hollie! I sure hope that I'm able to stay home with my kids as much as possible when we have them. :) Love that you spend time with your family like that!

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