Housewives: raise your hands if you’ve ever had someone tell you that you “have it so easy” to be a housewife. Or that you’re “so lucky that you don’t have to work.” Or, a personal favorite: “What do you do all day?”
Sure, as housewives we recognize that we are incredibly lucky that we get to stay at home and raise the children. Now all women are in a position where circumstances and finances all for one parent to stay at home, and not all children are lucky enough to have an at-home parent. Indeed, the vast majority of kids these days have both parents working and spend a considerable amount of time in daycare while not at school.
We recognize all that. It still doesn’t change the fact that housewives need a vacation just as much as anyone else. And here are ten reasons why.
1. Breaking Up The Routine
At its simplest, a vacation is a chance for a housewife to break up the routine of the everyday. Just as much as many people resent spending all day facing a computer in a small cubicle, housewives can get a little tired of spending all day inside the house and garden. When a trip to the grocery store fills you with delight for the simple fact that it’s a chance to have a break from the house, you know you’re ready for a vacation.
2. A Break From Cooking
A housewife once lamented: “Once you become a mom, it feels like you spend all day in the kitchen.” From preparing every meal for every member of the family – and making allowances for fussy eaters or those with dietary restrictions – to making your own baby food, to mixing formula and baking cakes and other desserts for birthdays and the dreaded school bake sale, housewives spend an inordinate amount of time in the kitchen.
Even if you can’t afford a vacation, a cooking vacation could be all you need. Buy all your meals for a week (it doesn’t have to be expensive or particularly healthy – pizza for dinner every night for just one week isn’t going to break the bank or cause health problems) or have your partner and children work together to put every meal together themselves. An indoor picnic with sandwiches and a store-bought dessert will feel like dining in a Michelin-starred restaurant for a housewife who didn’t have to prepare the meal herself.
3. Disconnecting From Devices
Digital stress is real, the pressure to stay connected at all times can be overwhelming. A vacation gives housewives the perfect reason to cut ties with technology, even if just for a few days. Relish in leaving your cellphone, iPad, and myriad of other digital devices and electronic wipes at home, and spend some time off the grid.
If you’re feeling inordinate pressure to stay connected, you could even tell a little fib and say that your vacation destination has no cellphone signal, or “such weak Wi-Fi that it’s not even worth trying to upload daily photos of the kids to Facebook.”
4. Creating New Memories
It can be easy to get caught up in the day to day minutia of life, rushing through your day as you shuttle your kids from one activity to another. Vacation is the perfect opportunity – and in a way, a forced one – to create new memories of your family just existing together.
The laziest vacations are oftentimes the best, and a gentle stroll from your accommodation into the nearest town for the sole purpose of enjoying an ice-cream together could end up being the most memorable moment of your trip.
And while you’ve opted to leave your electronic devices at home, a simple travel camera is all you’ll need to capture those memories.
5. The Opportunity To Dial It Back
On a similar note, vacation activities don’t have to be expensive, elaborate, or time-consuming. You may be surprised at how resourceful your kids will be at creating their own fun when they’ve got nothing to play with but some simple toys (a few beach tools, for example, or as simple as a packet of balloons or a deck of cards) and their own imaginations.
And while the kids are amusing themselves with their new-found freedom from technology and complicated toys, you’ll find they’re less demanding of you. Use that time to reconnect with your partner, or lose yourself in a good book.
6. A Chance To Expand Your Circle
Vacations are the perfect opportunity to meet new people. Simply being relaxed and in “holiday mode” makes you more accessible to others, and gives you the confidence that you otherwise may not have to strike up a conversation with a stranger. Even if the friendship doesn’t last longer than the time it takes to wait in line at the local convenience store, you’ll feel happier for have had the experience.
7. Time Out For Two
It may seem contradictory, but a family vacation can be the perfect opportunity for you and your partner to spend some alone time. Look into babysitting or creche services for your kids, especially ones that provide a myriad of enjoyable vacation activities for your little ones to try. Then make the most of the opportunity to enjoy some relaxing time with your partner. Try not to plan anything elaborate – just schedule some time and see where the mood takes you. It may be the first time you’ve walked hand-in-hand along the beach in many years.
8. A Way To Schedule Your Relaxation
As a housewife, you’re used to making the most of your time and scheduling every minute. If relaxing is a foreign concept to you, schedule blocks of “relaxation” and “doing nothing” into your vacation calendar. You may fight it at first and look for something to clean, but it won’t take long before you’re back in the swing of enjoying simply existing, without having to achieve something in the process.
9. Beginning To Fight Perfectionism
When you’re on vacation, it doesn’t matter if you didn’t wash your hair today, or if your kids go a day without a bath. It’s OK to wear mismatched clothes, a huge floppy hat, or flip-flops to a diner. Give your family – and yourself – the opportunity to let go of the need to look and be perfect.
10. A Chance For Your Children To Become Self-Sufficient
Shortly after you arrive on vacation, make a trip to a local grocery store or convenience store and stock up on food basics: easy-to-prepare fruit like bananas, grapes, apples, and oranges, basic sandwich staples like bread, cheese, peanut butter, and deli meat, and plenty of bottled water if necessary. You won’t always feel like going out to eat, and having the basics on hand will make it easier for your kids to prepare their own snacks when they feel hungry without asking you every time.
Are there any other reasons why housewives need a vacation that we’ve forgotten? As a housewife, why do you need a vacation? Share your story in the comments below, and please share these tips with your housewife friends.
Resources
What We Mean When We Say We Need a Break – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amanda-king/stay-at-home-parent_b_2558642.html
4 Reasons Wives and Moms Need a Summer Vacation – https://calmhealthysexy.com/4-reasons-wives-moms-need-a-summer-vacation/
10 Ways to Relax and Enjoy Your Summer Vacation – https://calmhealthysexy.com/10-ways-to-enjoy-your-summer-vacation/
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