Taking Time Away
A few years ago my wife and I decided to start taking more time for ourselves.
Now that we’re in our fifties we’re realizing we’re well past the half way mark in life.
A few of our older relatives have been telling us to “travel while you still have the health and energy”!
So we decided to travel every month. Mostly a night or two away within driving distance.
We go to Atlantic City and walk the boardwalk. We go up to Maine and rent an AirBnB on a lake. Stuff like that.
It keeps us close and helps us stay focused on what’s most important in life – family and relationships.
This weekend we went to Cape Cod for an overnight.
Though I’m not an early riser we woke up Sunday morning at 5:30 and decided to head out. We found a breakfast place that opened at 6AM and had some bacon and eggs.
Then we headed over to a beautiful cove in Yarmouth to watch the sunrise. It was absolutely magnificent. Here are a couple shots I took with my phone…
Last year’s version of me would have rolled over and went back to sleep. I’m so glad I got out of bed instead.
It’s so easy to fall into a rut in life where you do the same things day in and day out.
Personally, I make the mistake of spending too much time on my phone. I constantly look at alerts on my calendar and add new stuff daily. So many things to do and so little time to do it.
But I’m getting better at stopping to smell the roses.
I remember a day about 15 years ago when I was golfing with my dad. It was about a year before he passed away. He wandered off from the hole we were playing to pick some wild berries.
I was probably having a bad round or something and I got aggravated that he was slowing us up. What a fool I was. Instead of urging him to keep up I should have wandered over and picked a few berries with him!
Anyway, I’m really not sure where I’m going with this today. I guess I just wanted to show off my pictures from this weekend and maybe impart a few words of wisdom…
Spend as much time as you can with your loved ones.
Be present in their company – you don’t know how long they’ll be around.
Open your mind to new ideas and try not to judge others. Be understanding and tolerant of people who may be different than you.
Try to slow down and spend more time with your loved ones.
Take long walks on the beach or the nearest hiking trail.
Smell the roses.
Pick some berries.
That’s enough writing for today. I’ll see ya next Friday.
It’s above freezing here in New England today. Not bad for a January morning. I’m heading out for a hike with my dog.
Hi Jim
One most certainly needs time out.
I love travelling as well. Even if only a night
or two away with your loved one.
But it comes at a cost. Time and money.
IM can help you with both those aspects of Life.
Yeah, all it takes is an overnight or even a day trip to get your mojo back!
taking time to travel and relax and also visit different countries to learn more about the rest of the world is another way of destressing. That’s why I like to go spend a month or 2 with in-laws in southern china. Yes wifie is from there. I’m the only one who doesn’t look chinese….they modified my eyes when I was born…lollllllllllllllllllllll have a great one Jim
Great advice James, thanks! We plan to start seeing some other countries eventually as well! Not sure we could do a couple months, we’d miss home too much!
Great advice, hope I can find more time for get sways. Also nice to see someone who gives advice like this.
Thanks Randy, I appreciate the kind words.
I know how you feel about your dad, I lost my dad a few years back. I miss him. Have a great weekend. Who do you like in the superbowl? Thank you for your time. Anthony
Yeah, sometimes we don’t appreciate even close relatives as much as we should til they’re gone. I like the Pats, but I’m biased since I’ve live in New England almost all my life.
That really looks calming Jim. Next time you decide to go let me know and i will pop out for a few days.Could use some get away time myself. I have always wanted to see that area.
Yeah it was phenomenal. Very quiet and peaceful in the offseason.
Jim;
Take the time to travel. Life is very short. Before you know it you could have health problems that will prevent you from travelling. So forget business for a while and enjoy life and travel while you can. Enjoyed your article.
I agree with you Jim 100%! There’s probably not too many of us that can truthfully say that we have no regrets. Taking time now and then to hit that Pause button (for me) has allowed me to reflect on my mess-ups and move forward with a clearer mindset. Can’t think of a more beautiful spot to do a reset than along the coast!