vacate

So I'm feeling a bit bummed out. I feel like a lot of face book updates of my friends, blogs I read and random conversations I've overheard in the past several weeks have been about family vacations (primarily to the beach) and you know what??? I WANNA GO ON ONE! One thing about me is that I could probably live in a permanent state of vacation and be pretty happy in it (if there is warm weather, a pool, a yummy frozen drink on hand, a good book to read and a maid to make my bed everyday.) Yeah, probably everyone would sign up for that.

Pre-kids, Steve and I did an awesome job at taking little vacations. We received some great advice when we were first married. Our friends, the Weidners, told us to getaway as often as we could (even if it wasn't necessarily *in the budget* or *convenient*) because once kids come along, it gets a lot harder. Can I get a witness??!!

We loved our little jaunts near and far. We were even blessed to have an all-family (meaning Steve's brother, sister their spouses and my parents-in-law) pre-kid vacation to Aruba (thanks to Steve's parents... a little incentive to help them along on becoming grandparents if yaknowwhatimean!) MMMMmmmm.. To this day, I go back to Aruba about once a week in my mind. It was to die for.

So now I see pics and read stories about families who load up the van and head to sandy shores. I have to say, I get a bit jealous. The bummer is, we live in Southwest Ohio. Not exactly tropical and not exactly luxurious. Not even exactly near to somewhere that is. And honestly, the thought of a van ride much more than the required 4+ hours to visit family in the Cleveland area these days seems hideous and even a lovely beach wouldn't make it worth it.

I know someday soon (probably all too soon) the kids will be at a great age for a sandy beach vacation or a trip to the Magic Kingdom. But today, my getaway will be the Y. If I go and sit in the sauna and close my eyes and smuggle in a margarita, I just might fool myself. Let me know where you'd go if you could get away today!