We were in a rut. High tension at home due to stress – you know, the typical; money, work, family, yada yada yada – not enough time in the day type of stuff. The hubby booked a hotel for the night, walking distance from where the 4th of July festivities were happening, sparing us from the hour drive home/return to reality.

The hotel was not extravagant, but it was something new. The kids were stoked and once I got past the hem-haws of but what about this, and what about that, I was way stoked too. This adventure was very different from our day to day life. Our island is more rural; we eat most of our meals at home, there’s not much of a night life. So any time away from home is something that takes a bit of planning – even something as simple as our weekly shopping trip is at least a four hour excursion.

One very fun aspect of this detour from our normal routine, other than the fireworks and socializing for the kids and my husband and I, was that it was not on the weekend. It felt like a weekend in the middle of the week! This was stress-free, chore-free family fun, and it was way over due.

Now it feels less burdensome that this weekend will go much like the others, spent remodeling our plantation-era house, working on the cars (okay, that one is all my handsomely handy husband ❤ ), volunteering with the church, etc. I should explain, these tasks are all jobs we look forward to, but it does make for less family fun time.

With God’s great grace, I will find a new career that will allow me to help my husband make these little escapes take place more often!