 Most of the vacations I took as a child were with my grandma Juanita, who was a very grumpy traveler. In fact, navigating her moods on a trip was a lot like playing verbal landmine dodge ball, especially when you got to the point where she'd run out of money (...and she always did). She was a big fan of going somewhere and cramming in as much "sight-seeing" as possible, causing every day to be this crazy rush of getting from one event to another. She also believed this equated to "having fun" (insert dramatic eyeroll here). I despised her approach to vacationing so much, that when I got old enough to plan and go on my own, I developed some fast and hard rules about how MY trip would be different, ergo much happier: Rule One: Always do your research, so you know what options are available. Rule Two: No doing anything (or eating anywhere) you can do at home...i.e. stay OUT of McDonalds! Rule Three: No rushing anywhere or stressing about anything (...this comes with a caveat, however, in that you also can't sleep until noon every day. If you wanna spend so much time sleeping, stay home!). Rule Four: Stick to your budget, and always allow for a buffer. Rule Five: Make a plan, but be flexible enough to break it, and know your threshold so that you're aware of the precise moment it's time to quit and call it a day. When going on a trip, I like to be prepared but open-minded. I like bringing my favorite clothes and my own pillow (...I'm weird about putting my face where countless strangers have ALSO put theirs, or whatever...shudder). I frequently forget to take pictures, especially when I'm having a great time. I think this is partly because grandma used to pose me like a princess in front of various "monumental" points of interest, while we were having a lousy time...talk about the ultimate fake Kodak moment! I hope your 2015 is full of adventures, which don't necessarily have to involve taking a trip. May you find your own way of making those adventures into happy memories! Note: The above earrings are available at Etsy.com (love, love, love this website)! 
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About The Author
I grew up in rural North Carolina. When I was only nineteen, I moved away and became a military wife. My only aspiration at that tender time in my life was to create an adult life that "fixed" all of the "injustices" of my childhood. Secretly, however, I wanted to reach for the sky! I wanted to be a writer and find ways to "save the world" (my mother used to say, "You have Save the World Syndrome".). Mostly, I wanted to matter. Archives
August 2021
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