Have a Getastay If You Can’t Have a Getaway

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had about enough of winter. It’s Spring Break this week and there’s a forecast for snow on Thursday. Enough already! Shall we run away to Rocky Point, Mexico together? A getaway is not in our plans this year, but how about a getastay?

Getting away is important

My husband and I have a long-held belief that the secret to a long and happy life (marriage, family, self) is to have regular getaways — the chance to reconnect, laugh, and explore. Experts agree. Two or three days away are important for our emotional health. Let’s be honest, not only kids want to run away sometimes. By regular, that depends on your circumstances. Some say you should take several small trips throughout the year, along with a longer vacation or two.

When we had little children, a once-a-month couple getaway was out of the question. Aside from our weekly date night, once a year was about all we could afford. I wish I thought of a getastay sooner. As a family, we’d have a getaway a few times a year (usually camping) and a regular vacation each summer. I’ll talk about vacations (and staycations) in another blog. Regular just means you purposefully plan and execute as often as possible, understanding that the more small breaks you get, the better you feel.

As foster parents, we decided once a month was vital to relieving stress. But this winter has seriously hindered our ability to travel. Every single month, a storm would roll in on our scheduled getaway, and we’d be stranded at home, unable to pull the travel trailer anywhere or take the car to warmer climates safely. And this Spring Break, we have to work. We’ve embraced the getastay like nobody’s business. Here’s how it works:

step one – Farm out the Kids if needed

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just take out our kid’s batteries and put them in the closet? (The kids and the batteries.) You probably already had plans for the kids if your getaway was as a couple. We have someone come stay at our house each month, so we had to make a Plan B, when we stayed home. I have grown children who took the foster kids into their homes. This is allowable for up to 48 hours. After that, foster kids have to go to respite — with licensed caregivers.

If you have relatives with kids, trade them; you watch theirs one weekend and they watch yours on another. Possibly you have a trusted friend who would do you a favor, or you could pay. Plan what time you’ll drop them off and pick them up — if you’re lucky, like me, you can get people to do the delivering.

Step two- Stay Someplace New

Someplace new can still be at home. We have a garage that we transformed into a movie theater. Yes, we love movies that much. There’s a murphy bed on one wall, so we pulled that down and spent the entire weekend in there. We only went in the house to grab food and go to the bathroom.

If the weather is good, pitch a tent in the yard or sleep on the trampoline. Use a travel trailer if you have one or know someone you can borrow from. Make use of the guest room or everyone switch rooms if the getastay is with the entire family. Get out the sleeping bags and stay together in the family room, on the sofas and floor. Pull out air mattresses. Make it feel like a new place.

Stay somewhere nearby. We stayed in a relative’s studio apartment once. It had a kitchenette we used for breakfast, but we went out to eat most of the time. This week our daughter is coming with her two kids from their house, 3 miles away, because she can’t go anywhere for Spring Break either. If you had planned on traveling, you could use the now-available gas funds to go to a local hotel. Our kids were always jazzed to have a pool. Is there an airbnb close by?

Step Three- Make a Plan

Talk it out and decide what you need the most: fun, intimacy, relaxation, sleep. If you’re dealing with kids, get their input. Then plan around that. Whether your weekend trip was with the entire family or as a couple, you’ll need to determine what you’re going to do from home.

Have Fun

If you’re looking for some fun, check out things happening near you. Go to the movies and out to eat. Visit an amusement park or other fun attraction in the area. Look on Facebook or local chamber of commerce websites for events: music festivals, wine tasting, hot air balloons, book fairs, seasonal attractions like tubing or skiing. Being cold is the last thing I want to do. Ick! But, hey, you do you.

Be intimate

As a couple, light candles, enjoy some wine and a romantic dinner, fix breakfast and eat in bed. Shower or take a bath together. Enjoy an empty house.

Relax

What do you consider relaxing? Sitting by a lake? Ice fishing? Whatever your climate is like, work around it. When was the last time you played table games? Sometimes sitting and talking is the perfect remedy for relieving stress. Read a book together, taking turns reading or listening to an audio version. You can get them at your local library.

Sleep

The plan can be no plan if what you really need is no stress whatsoever. Our first getastay, we spent the entire two days binge watching a favorite show. We watched tv, fixed quick and easy meals, and slept.

*spoken in a whisper behind my hand * We unintentionally slept a LOT! We must have needed it, but it’s embarrassing to admit.

After each episode (or whenever we woke up), we asked, “Do you want to do something else? Go to the theater so we can have popcorn and soda? Go out to eat?” Each time, it was a big no. Too much effort!

Be Spontaneous

Maybe one day is filled with fun and another is total relaxation. You can make your own theater with a sheet and projector. Move the tv outside if the weather permits. Whatever you do, make sure the stress takes a backseat to pleasure. The first time our plans were detoured, I was super stressed and, honestly, mad. I’d been looking forward to traveling somewhere new and I needed the time away. It nearly ruined the entire weekend. Find a way to put that aside by changing your mindset and reinvent your trip. Which brings me to . . .

step Four – Do It Differently

When you have to stay home, it’s hard to feel like you’re getting a break. You’re tempted to do everything the same. Don’t! Give your home or location a fun name if that helps remind you you’ve “traveled” someplace else. Camp Whatchadoin’. The Love Shack. Hotel Faraway. Isla Distancia. Make a sign that tells neighbors and visitors you’re not home in spite of all appearances. “Not home. Having a Getastay. We are a figment of your imagination. See you on Monday.” My husband told our grown kids, if you want to see us naked, come on over.

Pack a suitcase and only use what’s inside. We literally had our bags packed when we realized the road over the rim was closed. We didn’t unpack them, and it was a great reminder that we were “away”. This also works well if you’re swapping rooms.

Don’t do the dishes – use paper plates and plastic utensils instead. It’s only two days, so you can clean up on Monday. Get fast food if you don’t usually do that. Eat somewhere else, like a picnic at the park or set up a table in another room of the house for meals. If you usually go to church on Sunday, visit a different church. No matter what, don’t do chores or ask your kids to. Turn a blind eye to every project you think you need to do because you’re at home. Remember, you’re not! You have to act like you’re away.

Step 5 Unplug

The one thing that should stay the same is disconnecting. When you go on a quick weekend trip, hopefully you put down that phone. Disconnect from social media and the stresses of life. Connect with the person or people you’re with. This is REALLY REALLY HARD! Do it anyway. Do it differently than you do every other day. Happy travels!

your turn

Have you ever had a getastay? How did you make it fun? What were your obstacles? If you’ve never had one before, do you think you will? What ideas do you have that I haven’t thought of.