Finally, we are leaving the cold winter behind! I have to say that this felt like the longest winter ever. I was still hoping for Spring to stay longer but that was just a dream. Summer is pretty much here and travel season has begun! I love to travel and I want to do it more this year than I previously have. Some of us are just born with wanderlust and look for opportunities to have a new experience in a new place. I try to have at least one big vacation a year, normally a cruise, and enjoy some weekend trips just to explore some different destinations.

Everyone has different reasons why they need vacations. If your job allowed, I bet most people would take 3-5 of them a year. To me, vacations should happen away from home. “Staycations” are cool to just take a break from work, but you tend to still stay connected to the workplace when you are right there. It used to be hard for me to stay away from work even when I was away before I started working for myself. Now that I run my own business, vacations are everything they need to be for me and more. I leave work at work and make no apologies for it.

So why do we need vacations/breaks?

• You get a break from working. When I am away from work, I try to forget about it altogether and be in my moment. Unplugging completely is very helpful. Maybe check your emails in the morning, but detach yourself as much as you can. If you trained someone else to take care of things while you are gone, trust them. It will be good for you, and make them feel important as well. They want to impress you so let them. Plus some of my best ideas come to me when I am not at the shop.
• You have more time to think and find yourself again (if you think that you were

  

  lost, that is). When I travel, I like to take as much time as I can doing absolutely nothing! Finding a quiet place to just sit and reflect, nap, read, or just bask in the sun. Take time to let your mind wander, meditate or dream. This is a time where you can have a revelation about changes you want to make in and for your life when you get back home. Out in the world, you have time to see things in a new light. New surroundings bring inspiration and/or insight. We can be inspired to paint again, begin that book, or renew your interest in entrepreneurship again.

•  You get to play! Being a mother of 3 growing young men (homeschooling one of them), running a household while running a salon business, getting an event planning and travel business off of the ground and getting this blog going…phew…I have far too little time to play if I am home. Travel helps me to channel my inner little girl and see the world with fresh eyes. I try to do things that I have never done, or have not done in a while, on each trip. Laughter and smiles on vacation definitely help to melt the stress away.
• Quality time with your loved ones. Busy busy busy!! That is my middle name. Being  able to have some quality interactions without the pressure of time is an important part of making family memories. When we travel together, it allows us to share and enjoy experiences together and you get to create memories that will be talked about over and over again for years to come. My boys are clowns so there is nothing but side-splitting laughter happening around them. And make sure you take pictures of everything!!! We age and our minds go but pictures bring us back to those times that can get crowded out by everyday life, the good and the bad.

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  You get to relax and reconnect with nature. Most people spend a lot of time indoors. Travel gets us all out of the house and breathing fresh air. Nature’s fresh air brings restorative and calming qualities to us and brings on the relaxation! When we get away from the everyday stresses, our bodies and minds are restored. We are open to new experiences when we get away from the day-to-day problems. When we take time to concentrate on new sights, smells, tastes, and sounds, we are refreshed and renewed. That restoration takes us to our lives fresh and energized (even though we would rather stay on vacation).

The vacation that you choose to take does not have to be long or even an expensive one. From going to a different country or just spending the day at the beach, you can touch on most if not all of the benefits of travel. To be sure that you do receive all of the benefits, it is better to plan your vacation. Just planning it and imagining where you would like to go, will begin to make you happy before the vacation even begins.