Annual Reminder That Me Time Is Critical

I may be somewhat of a broken record on the topic, but I will always evangelize the importance of getting away from your everyday. Sometimes you date your spouse or kids. Other times, you have monthly meetings with your VIP friends. More commonly, this might mean going to bed an hour early with a book and no phone to distract you, or a trip to Target without all the little people in tow. If you’re really lucky, you get a whole weekend of Me Time. Whatever you get – use it up.

This blog post comes to you from the afterglow of a weekend away with my college BFF in the place everyone travels to in the winter – Ann Arbor, MI. (#doesnthavetobetropicaltobeagetaway) Amber and I took three days to escape work, family, the news… Everything that makes our shoulders creep up. Instead of that day-to-day grind, we spend hours in Ulta, Target, Costco. (See… super fancy.) We milled about at a bookstore and pawed all the blanket options at Marshall’s. We had two delicious meals at Ann Arbor institutions and drove around marveling at the gorgeous (and expensive-looking!) University of Michigan campus, but really we could have been anywhere.

Anywhere except home. At home it is too easy to get sidetracked with a load of laundry, a quick peek at Facebook, or another call from work. You might sit down with a magazine only to find an adorable toddler in your face demanding you play Barbies (P.S. Don’t skip the Barbies!) or a coffee table so covered in stuff, there is no place for your cup of tea.

The real good life is great, but it’s mundane. Repetitive. Life sucking. (Sometimes in equal measure to life-affirming, but still…)