Sunday (Dec 26) we were itching to go somewhere for vacation…But where could we go…St. Louis? New York? If it was not for the SNOW we would have done that…But we craved for somewhere warmer…And so we decided on Florida, Orlando FL! IT was probably around 8:30pm that night that we decided that we would just go for it, and figure out everything else along the way. The only “plan” we had was that we would just leave whenever…whenever we finished packing and booking out hotel room the next day. We had a tentative plan to leave at 2pm…We didn’t leave until 4pm!
So we booked our hotel using our points from our Amex credit card. Now I must pause for a cause here…I am not one to promote the use of credit cards, but this one deserves some hype. If you are capable of using a credit card like a debit card…that is you don’t spend what you don’t have…and pay it off right after you charge it, then get the Starwood Preferred Guests credit card from Amex. This card has a reward system like no other. In 2010, we stayed in Atlanta GA, St. Louis MO, Dallas TX, Jacksonville FL, and Orlando FL for FREE! A total of 12 nights at Sheratons across the U.S. was all free! I could probably do an ad for them for real. They also allow you to redeem your points for gift cards…So instead of the free hotel stays, I could have gotten twelve $50 gift cards to places like GAP, old navy etc. We have never done that because we can ALWAYS use free hotel stays valued at least $100 per night! If you know of a credit card that pays you at least $1,200 a year in rewards PLEASE LET ME KNOW…We use our credit card to pay all bills that allow us to pay with AMEX, we also use it to purchase gas, food, entertainment, travel, shopping etc. Since I don’t really use a credit card for the “credit” part, the most I would do is buy something knowing that I will pay it off at the end of the month when we get paid. Also, using a credit card allows me to keep track of my spending…believe it or not, I am more likely to spend more carelessly if I use cash!
Anyhoo, so Monday morning we booked our hotel, and we left home 4pm that afternoon. Nothing was planned! When we decided that we were going we had no idea where we would stay, what we would do in FL, how much money we would spend…Now for those of you who know me, this is a first for me. I am a planner at heart…Usually when its vacation time, I research possible activities, make a budget, and even research deals…I research which Sheraton we will stay, hunt for the best flight deals weeks, even months in advance…So, to decide today for tomorrow to go somewhere 10 hours away was huge for me! This was not the first time we had a spontaneous trip, but it was the first time it spanned a week!
I must say, I totally loved the spontaneity of this trip!!! It will go down as one of our best trips ever!! AS a matter of fact in 2010 we had some boss trips!! My theme for last year was basically to go for it…If I want to do it…then do it! And with that, we visited my sister/best friend and her husband in St. Louis, we went to an Alicia Keys concert in Atlanta , saw a hilarious Tyler Perry Play, went to a few comedy shows including Sedrick the Entertainer, NY Comic Strip live, and Goodnight comedy club for my birthday. We for the first time, had a unique experience in NY and went to Broadway play at last – Fela! We finally saw the Color Purple, made 3 trips to DC and saw the monuments, a steelpan show, visited friends in VA/DC…Went to the Caribbean lectureship in Trinidad and had a beach getaway in Tobago for our anniversary…then we went to Texas and met Margie and Weldon…a trip that has touched me like none other…So this Orlando trip simply ended the year off with a bang! We went to Seaworld, Aquatica, Universal Studios, and Islands of Adventure! On Tuesday we walked along the shore of Jacksonville beach and talked about our personal goals for the new year…IT was low key and sweet. We brought in the new year, tired as ever at universal studios or was it islands of adventure…they were right next to each other…
I look back on 2010 and I feel like I accomplished what I had set out…I tried a lot of things...Had I not decided on that theme, I would not have done half the things we did in 2010…I would have stopped myself because “someone” did not want to go…Or because it was too expensive…In 2010, I turned NOTHING down because of the price! I am proud to say that if I wanted to do it, I did…I often told my husband that he works very hard and he deserves to cut himself a break and enjoy something for working so hard…And with that said, I said – let’s do it! Forget price! Let’s do it! I want to see my sister…forget how much it costs…let’s do it…You have someone you want to visit…just do it…You never know how life is going to change…Don’t assume that you will have time to visit them “later.” Better to do it now, than to visit them at their funeral. That’s my mantra…I have given myself permission to spend a couple hundred dollars to see a friend…because my friend is worth more than that to me…I so, I hope to repeat many of the things we did in 2010 in this new year…I want to make sure I visit my sister in St.Louis and my dad in NY…and of course Trinidad and Jamaica…I also want to go to Hawaii, and on a cruise! AND, to the Caribbean lectureship in St. Lucia.
You are probably wondering where I am going to find the time to do all of that!? I only get 12 vacation days a year…But where there is a will, there is a way!! I will work an extra hour Monday-Thursday, that would allow me 2 days off using flex time….I will do that on the months that I need to take a week off…That way I would only use 3 vacation days for every 5 days I want off. I would also do the same for holiday weekends like Labor day or memorial day….Since its already a 3 day weekend, then I can add a day of flex and a work from home day to allow me to take a Wed-Sunday trip to visit friends and family without actually using a single vacation day. That way I would be able to stretch my vacation days and turn it into 5 full weeks off!! And if for some reason that does not work, I would gladly take a week of unpaid leave so I could live a little! Some companies offer flex time that does not expire…in that case, if you work an extra 8 hours a month by working an extra 30 minutes a day, you would be able to easily take 2 weeks off at the end of the year without even touching your vacation time…because your flex time basically turns into vacation days. Unfortunately BBBS does not allow us to roll over our flex time…So I would have to work within the limits and use it each pay period. Another thing I have done in the past, is to ask for a week of vacation instead of a pay raise. I did that after my first year because they only offered 5 days after one year of employment.
Anyway, I digress…I would like to share one thing that I have learnt through all my adventures in 2010…As much fun I had doing a million new and exciting things, I have learnt that happiness is fleeting. When you live in the moment, you are happy in the moment…It does not last…It does not carry you…and it does not make you a happier person…IT does not make you forget your problems, it does not hide your insecurities and it does not stop the tears…It does not stop the things that hurt you…The things that hurt me are still there…A friend who abandoned our 15 year friendship, family who blows me off, my dad not coming to visit, the hole in my heart because I don’t have a mother, the sadness I feel at times when I call my friends and they don’t call me back but I really needed someone to talk to, the stress of caring for a mentally ill mother, or even the feelings of abandonment I contend with from time to time…As much “fun” things you do with your life, it does not change the problems in your life…And therefore, it’s a temporary band aid that takes you away from life, and into a world of pure bliss.
The last 5 days, I was on a high! I was flying so high I could touch the sky! Each day I woke up happy to be with Jared, happy to be with my best friend, and happy to be flying on roller coasters, and swimming down a water slide, and just being a kid again…it was problem free! Pure bliss! Pure joy! Only smiles!! But then…we had to pack our bags and start our 10 hour journey home. As I sat in the car a wave of sadness just came over me…For no reason in particular, I just started to feel sad…Perhaps it was that a new year does not really bring a new you…Cause you still have the same problems? Perhaps it was that I was going back to work! And I got the back to work blues…But I don’t know if that’s really it…What I do know, is that happiness is fleeting…It does not last but a moment…
But joy, is something that is within your soul…Joy you get not from doing something fun…it’s from the life you chose to live…It’s from the decision you make to follow God…Pure joy is found only in God…And it is when we take our eyes off of the prize, discontentment in many aspects of our life set in. Discontentment is the killer of joy! Perhaps I am not content with my family life…perhaps there is something else I feel that I am missing…and with that, discontentment can easily replace my joy. Don’t allow discontentment to steal your joy…Put your blinders on and keep your eyes on the prize…Focus on God, and everything else will fall into place. I KNOW THIS…Sometimes I just need to remind myself!
Be blessed!
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