Adulting is overwhelming, am I right?

The responsibilities are endless.  Literally.  You work to feed and clothe and shelter your loved ones.  You grocery shop and clean the bathrooms.  You fold clothes and meal prep for lunches.  You scoop litter and change the oil in the vehicles.  You go to ball games and help with homework.  You worry and pray and cheer and wipe tears and make promises.

And you may even start laughing  at memes like this because they are so unbelievably relatable…

Maybe it’s time to just take a breath.

What if we lived in a world where spending quality time with your family or spouse takes priority over vacuuming?  What if we didn’t worry so much about saving every single extra penny for our retirements (which, let’s face it folks, we may never live to get to spend), and spend some money making memories with our loved ones?  What if we could see the value of a weekend (or longer) adventure?

Obviously, I can only speak from my experience, and I live a different life than you.  We all live differently.  We all have different wants, needs, priorities, time constraints, and finances.  But, we all have a little something in common.  We are tired.  We are exhausted from the daily routine.  We are physically, mentally, and spiritually drained.  We cannot be patient, present, supportive, loving, giving, or grateful in this worn down state!

Enter: the getaway.

My husband and I can recognize when life starts getting to us… and that’s when we start planning our next little getaway.  We need adventure in our lives.  We need different air to breathe.  Different spaces to roam around in.  Different food to eat.  We need adventure and travel.

Not everyone needs this kind of adventure, or even travel.  But, everyone needs to get away.

In a world where we talk so frequently about mental health, this should be part of that conversation.  As you’re reading this, you are probably thinking of excuse after excuse why you and your family can’t get away.  I get it.  Time, money, activities…. and on and on and on.  But, I’m here to tell you right now – if you make this a priority in your life, you will find a way.

Be creative!  Pick up your phone, use Google maps, and find a town or city that is only an hour away from you right now.  Since you have your phone in your hand, Google what people do in that town/city for fun.  Seriously.  There are tons of cheap or free things to do, everywhere.  Now, look at your calendar.  Find a weekend that is free in the next 3 months, and start planning!  Just do it.  You will NOT regret it.

Take a tour of your city, go camping, go see friends or family, check out a local bed and breakfast, go to a zoo or museum, go to a concert, have a picnic in a park, or plan a weekend trip.

Go with your spouse or partner.  There’s no rule that you have to take your kids.  Water and feed your marriage or relationship.  Everyone needs time alone with their person.

OR…  take some me-time!  Don’t know what that is?  That’s because you don’t do it.  It’s healthy to take time for yourself.  It makes you a better person, partner, friend, parent, sibling, coworker, neighbor…  see where I’m going with this?

So stop with the excuses.  Make these memories, adventures, and getaways a priority.  It’s so good for your soul.  Find that balance in your life.  Do it for your mental health.  Do it for your spouse and your kids.  Do it for yourself.  You will not regret it.

Here’s some pics from our last little St. Louis getaway.

Bait was amazing.  We did have to wait a little bit for our waiter, and he may, or may not, have been somewhat new, but he did his best.  That being said, the food and drinks were on point.  Will definitely revisit soon.

We ate at Milque Toast Bar on Saturday morning.  I pulled some pics of their outdoor seating from Facebook.  It looks awesome, right?  It was really unique, but they could have taken some time to clean off the benches and chairs and tables.  Having said that, the food was really great.  We enjoyed the beautiful morning and even got to hang with Arthur the dog, who frequents the patio.  I would be happy to eat there again.

Have I mentioned that we love STL?  Well, we do.  We take full advantage of being familiar with the city and rent scooters (Bird or Lime) to get around.   We make regular stops at Bailey’s Range, because, yum.  This stop was purely for boozy shakes.  Yes, my friend.  Homemade ice cream shakes… with BOOZE.  (I would highly recommend the Horchata)

Finally, we went to a Blues hockey game.  If you know us at all, you know we love to see our Blues play live.  There’s Dave up there living his best life…  and, they won!

Now it’s your turn…  time to plan your getaway.

Adventure awaits…

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life.food.adventure & a cup of coffee… A blog about life, love, creativity, home, food, wine, step-parenting, weight loss, Jeeps, fitness, running, traveling, entertaining, fashion, being gluten-free, and… cats. Join me in embracing the chaos.