An adorable five year old boy that I know, when told that they just could not go on their planned vacation because of the expenses involved, told his mommy and daddy that it made him really sad and he didn't really understand. But he also told them that anything would be fine, as long as Mommy and Daddy didn't work and they did something together as a family. Pretty profound for a five year old.
Regardless of the price of gasoline, the increases for items on the grocery store shelves, or the upcoming presidential election having you feel like you are riding a roller coaster, you still deserve a vacation! And don't you owe it to your family?
Vacations are good for you! A study in psychosomatic medicine finds a correlation between the number of vacations people take and their risk of death. Studied vacation habits of 12,338 men for five years discovered that those who took no vacations suffered the highest death rate and the highest incidents of heart disease over the next nine years!
Those who did take a vacation reduced their risk of death by 21% and their risk of death by heart disease by 32%.
We all know that relaxing and taking it easy reduces stress. What can be more relaxing than a vacation? Even if you do a bit of sightseeing and shopping it is still stress-free. Cruising the oceans of the world or just chilling out at a beachfront resort somewhere with nothing more to do than decide what to eat that day or do you want to swim in the pool or the ocean can be the best medicine available for what ails you. Not to mention excellent brain food!
If the water and beaches don't interest you the other possibilities are limitless. A trip to the Colorado mountains can certainly provide that "Rocky Mountain High". A visit to New England, to some of our nation's most reknown historical places offer a wonderful respite from every day struggles. Washington DC in all its majesty and splendor still brings tears to my eyes. Coastal California from San Diego to Sacremento would be the trip of a lifetime.
Vacations don't have to be 10-14 day endeavors that are beyond your budget. But at least take four to seven days of "me" time, or if you have a family, then "us" time. You work hard and you deserve it. So do the people who love you.
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