All SubVacations start the same way. I start planning about a month or two after our previous vacation and spend an inordinate amount of time searching all the places we possibly might want to go to, then after zeroing in on one or two, I look up places to stay and activities to do. That takes about six more months of planning, and usually selections are done in May or early June. Then all the planning stops, for various reasons, and in July we enter phase two: contemplation. That's when I look at our finances, compare my and SubHubs' and all the kids' camp and school schedules, cry in despair and start doubting our ability to go anywhere farther than the local playground. At some point in early August I resign myself to vacationless year because it is just not prudent for oh! so many reasons. For the next three weeks I go back and forth between going and not going, while making reservations, drive my boss and husband insane with indecision, contemplate cancelling reservations, and only know for sure that we are definitely going on vacation when we are in the car on our way there.
While in the car, I questions myself why I spend so much time looking at other places since we end up going to the same one year after year: it's close, it's cheap, it's fun and available on a short notice, which is convenient for people who cannot make up their mind without driving herself and everyone around her crazy. And I also wonder why I drove myself crazy about going or not going on vacation in previous years - we end up going anyway, and in previous years our finances were in a much better shape than now. It's similar to gaining/losing weight: you look at the pictures from 10 years ago, realize you didn't look all that fat, especially in comparison with now and wonder why you drove yourself insane with crazy diets.
(To be continued...)
(To be continued...)
