The last month has been a crazy (and good) one for me. I've gone from spending Memorial Day with my family in Kentucky to preparing for a conference to being in Idaho for a week for said conference, to June Orientation, to having my boyfriend visit for a week, to my mother staying for the weekend. And that is just the 30,000 foot view of the last four weeks. Here are a couple of pictures from these adventures:
Team CLCS-aka Team Awesome-after rocking our presentation at ACSD!
One of the best parts of ACSD was seeing great friends who live all over the country. Some of them even presented!
Being in Idaho we wanted to eat potatoes...so we asked around and found this place. And can I say SO GOOD! I ate purple potatoes and a bison burger. The best part was the sauce and salt bar. 9 different types of salt and 7 different types of sauce. I had rosemary and garlic salt on my fries. Delicious!
The week after ACSD was summer Orientation. We played off of the Man of Steel movie coming out that weekend and had a theme of "Be Super". It was pretty great if I do say so myself.
Troy Trevecca with Super Girl. So. Much. Cuteness.
The highlight of June Orientation is Trevecca Inside-Out. As my boss says, a college fair and a carnival met, got married, and had a baby named Trevecca Inside-Out. To go with the "Be Super" theme, we have Planet Krypton, the Daily Planet, and a photo booth where incoming students and their families could dress up as their favorite super heroes and have their picture taken! Way to go Nine-Inch Neely for your creativity! And T-Middy for coming up with the theme in the first place.
The week after Orientation was over, this guy (aka-the best man I've ever known) came to visit for the week.
If you can't tell, we went to the pool one day, and got amazingly sunburned. I mean it was really, really, bad.
And we went to one of my favorite places in Nashville ever-McKays. The Reverend found just a couple of books to purchase. I don't think he should be left alone in this store. But for that matter, neither should I...
Whew! That's a lot. As a result, I decided that I am going to take some intentional time to recharge my introvert batteries by staying in town for my 4th of July 4 day weekend. Now a little bit about my history with stay-cations and what I plan on doing for mine:
I first heard about the idea of a stay-cation when I lived in Beaver Falls, PA. One of my co-workers, who I'll just call DJ-RJ, was going to be taking a week off and enjoy a stay-cation with another co-worker and her husband, who I'll just say enjoy Grimm tales. They were going to see the sights in Pittsburgh, play board games and generally relax and enjoy tourist activities with the bonus of not traveling and getting to sleep in their own beds.
The idea intrigued me, but as I lived 7 hours from my family and therefore didn't get to see them often, I took every opportunity I could to go and see them. So I was generally always out of town for holidays and used my vacation days to travel.
Then another colleague of mine got married (this couple enjoys wrestling up some Grubb) and decided to use the second week of their honeymoon for a stay-cation in their new home. Just having time to spend with one another putting together their home with out the stress of jobs and other responsibilities. What a great idea! One that has stuck with me since then.
Come back to this summer. As I thought about taking a four day weekend next week, I remembered the idea of the stay-cation and thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try it out for myself. So this is what I plan to do...
***Firstly, in my family any day off at home is an opportunity to do chores and projects around the house. Not so for this stay-cation. My stay-cation will be similar to a traveling vacation in that I'll prepare for it ahead of time. I will clean up my apartment, do my laundry, shop for groceries and pay bills before Wednesday at 3pm (that's when we're allowed to leave work for the weekend). This stay-cation is for relaxation and rejuvenation, not working on my to-do list. (I'm a productivity junkie, so I have to make this conscious decision before hand, or I'll just spend the whole weekend feeling guilty for not 'being productive').***
Secondly, it is important for me to do things that fill me up. The busiest and most stressful times of my year are ahead of me, and I want to face them with a full tank. There is also a lot of uncertainty right now in my life and the life of my family and I need some space to allow myself to reflect on these things instead of avoiding them or burying them (which I confess is my default coping mechanism).
The Plan/Schedule :
*It might not seem resting or relaxing to have a plan/schedule for a rejuvenating stay-cation, but I'm an uber 'J' on the MBTI scale, so this is actually fun for me and allows me to enjoy my time more.*
Wednesday:
- Pool and read
- Dinner on the Patio (my mom is bringing me patio chairs this weekend!)
- Choir (Not really a normal stay-cation type activity, but its our first rehearsal after having a month off..and I enjoy it and I get to see and hang out with friends. So it's still awesome).
Thursday:
- Staying in PJ's until an indecent hour watching movies and TV shows on DVD and Netflix. (Hey, everyone needs a Do. Nothing. Day. And I have a lot of Parks and Rec to catch up on..)
- Fireworks! The school I work at is 2 miles from down town on a hill. I plan on grabbing a chair, an Iced Chai Tea Latte and tuning my radio to the station broadcasting the Nashville Symphony and watch the fireworks with out crowds, parking hassles or traffic. If you'd like to join me, I'd love a buddy!
Friday:
- This is getaway/day trip day. I found out yesterday about a farm an hour and a half away from here where you can go and pick your own blueberries (and potentially other seasonal fruit). They also have walking trails and picnic areas and encourage people to come out and make a day of just hanging out at the farm. So I think this will be my reflection/solo day. A chance to just allow myself to think about and pray through the uncertainties of life right now. Having worked with experiential education for the last several years and encouraging my students to do this, I realize I am pretty much NEVER intentional to do this myself. Well solo time-here I come. A picnic lunch and camel back will be my companions on this day. I might be looking forward to this the most.
Saturday:
- Project day. Not to contradict myself and the long paragraph I wrote about not doing work on this stay-cation, I will clarify by saying this could be called 'arts and crafts' day. I want to do fun home improvement projects on this day that allow me to work with my hands and engage my creative side. Things like sand down and repaint the patio chairs my mom is bringing me. Making presents for people. Rearranging furniture. I LOVE the Pinterest and this is my day to delve into the projects that have been inspiring me for the last 6 months or so. I'll say that this is the day I'm the second most excited about!
Sunday:
- Church
- Lunch
- A walk at my park
- A Nap
- This might be the lowest of low key days. Limited technology, media and 'doing'. Soaking up the rest that the Sabbath provides and was created for.
And just like that, the stay-cation will be over. I know my plans may change and I'm more than willing to be flexible and adapt. (I may be a 'J', but it doesn't rule my life, I rule it! Kind of...) But overall, I just want to be. To stop. To listen. To breath.
I'll let you know how the stay-cation goes. In the mean time, have you ever been on a stay-cation? What did you love about it? What would you change? Have you been dreaming about a stay-cation but still haven't taken it yet? What do you want to do? How can you make plans to put it on your calendar in permanent ink?
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