5 years.

We just got back from a ten-day trip to Hawaii, during which we had a lot of fun and visited Oahu, Hawaii and Maui. It was magnificent. The excuse was our 5-year anniversary, though we definitely are big fans of travel and this had been on our list for a long time. I'm also on a big quest to finish seeing all 50 states by the time I turn 40, and this stop leaves me with just nine more to go. I am excited!

Those of you who know me personally know that I'm something of a control freak and a planner. I'm anal retentive. I'm organized. I get things done and I like them done just so. I make a lot of lists. I think things through carefully (and then think them through several more times) before doing them. It's what I do, and mostly it works for me - though it's not without its downfalls. Upsides to being super organized and anal and control-freaky: rarely have money problems, usually have a job, manage to avoid law-breaking and most major catastrophes due to good planning. Downsides: uber-stressful at times, can be a bummer when things don't go to plan.

Cue our trip to Hawaii.

I had built up this trip for months and months, and without delving into too much personal detail in a public forum (wait, wha? excersing restraint in the over-sharing department? who AM I?) I'll just say that I put several things on hold so that we could take this trip, and I really wanted it to go a certain way. I wanted it to be adventurous, high-energy and romantic. On top of that lofty list of goals and expectations, right before we took the trip, my new coworker said something that made me realize that Jay and I, despite doing a plethora of globe-trotting in the years we have been together, have almost never taken trips that were JUST the two of us. Because we live far from family and friends, most of our trips involve other people - which we love, but when I realized it...it really struck me. Wow. We haven't taken a trip that didn't involve work, family or friends, but was just about the two of us, in YEARS. And so that made me even more determined that our Hawaiian vacation would be perfect.

And then I woke up the morning of our departure feeling under the weather.

As a repeat bronchitis sufferer, I knew that was likely what was coming down the pike, and as we sat on the airplane for six hours on Friday night, I could feel it getting worse. Determined to have a great time and see all the planned sights, I woke up Saturday morning sure that I was better and decided to power on through, and we had a fabulous day of sight-seeing at Pearl Harbor and Waikiki. Hawaii was gorgeous and we were happy. But still, the lingering sickness was there and I knew deep down that it wasn't really out of me. Sunday morning I woke up and knew I was licked, and soon found myself in a doctor's office in Honolulu. We flew to Kona, and I felt worse. Arriving at our rental apartment, I broke down in tears, absolutely enraged and saddened to find myself on my long-awaited, much-anticipated trip...with bronchitis. I went to bed for several hours - cried myself to sleep, even. I was the picture of pathetic.

And then, something magical and very un-Sarie-like happened. I woke up, and I made a decision - not to let this ruin my vacation. Somehow, I said to myself, "Okay. I'm sick. It will take most of the week for me to get better. I will not be able to do all the things I had hoped to do this week. But maybe, if I'm careful and take good care of myself, I can still do some of the ones I wanted to do most, and surely I can still have fun. I'm in Hawaii. I can relax and enjoy the scenery. I can lounge under a palm tree just as easily as in my bed. I just have to avoid getting sunburned, get plenty of sleep and drink tons of water, and make sure to get enough rest."

It was like someone else invaded my body, some other person who wasn't a crazed planner from Planet Spreadsheet. And I did it, guys! I stayed positive. Sure, I caved to frustration for a few hours that afternoon, but after that? No. I had a GREAT vacation. It's true I didn't get to sea kayak as I'd hoped, and I had to modify my hiking and swimming plans, downscaling to manageable activities, and I had to plan in naps and restful activities that involved driving or sitting instead of scaling things and running around on foot. But it was still fun. And by Thursday, I had gotten 9-10 hours of sleep a night, snorkeled with sea turtles and manta rays and hiked through a volcano...and was feeling better. WIN! This is a good lesson for me - as much as it's awesome to be a planner, and I do that well most of the time and as I get older I do it with less stress - I am also able to live in the moment and adjust my expectations on the fly. I was proud of myself. *pats self on back*

Another magical thing about our trip, in addition to me learning to chill the hell out...I spent uninterrupted time with my husband. This probably sounds really stupid, but you know what? When was the last time you spent 10 days with your husband, or your wife, or your boyfriend or girlfriend or best friend or mother or ANYONE during which time you didn't watch a single tv show or movie, didn't get online other than to upload a photo or check a map, didn't do work, kept emails to a minimum, didn't work on any crafts or hobbies or do ANYTHING but hang out - and actually had a good time? I am gonna say I haven't done this with Jay in several years, and it wasn't for 10 days whenever we did it. It was AMAZING. It's funny. Even though I was sick and the trip maybe wasn't so romantic in the traditional sense, what with me hacking and coughing up a lung the entire time, it was ultra romantic in that I remembered why I like him so much, why I wanted to get married. Jay and I get along like gangbusters! Jay is funny! and fun! SO fun, in fact, that I didn't even MISS my television shows or my knitting (it's true, I didn't knit more than 3 rows the entire time I was gone until we flew back) or ANY of the daily circus. And that's how I know this is gonna last a lifetime, that I was smart to marry this dude. Because anyone you can spend 10 days with, sans media and diversions and while sick, and honestly say, "Wow, that was totally great," is a rare find. 

Comments

[Leslie]

I'm so happy that you found peace and love on your vacation in spite of the physical challenges. You know, being flexible in your attitude is a great lesson for raising children... just sayin' :-)

[irishgirlieknits]

Awww..sounds like an absolutely perfect vacation (despite the sick stuff) and marriage!! So glad you guys had a great time, and maybe, just maybe, that little bit of sick was a blessing in disguise :)