How I Stopped Living for Vacation and Started Living for Every Day
Originally published: Jan 2017
For years, I believed that rest was something I had to earn, something reserved for “someday.”
Someday, when I land my dream job.
Someday, when the kids were older.
Someday, when life slowed down.
But last year, something shifted.
I was on a 7-day Caribbean cruise with my family, a trip I’d been looking forward to for months and I realized something surprising: I didn’t feel desperate for the break. I was already rested, grounded, and at ease in my body and mind.
That moment changed how I define rest.
In the past, vacations were my only escape from the chaos. I would count down the days, white-knuckling through work and responsibility until I could finally relax. But now? I’ve designed a lifestyle that makes space for rest every day, not just once a year.
Instead of relying on a single annual getaway, I take small, intentional pauses; mini-vacations scattered throughout my week. These aren’t trips or fancy spa days. They’re moments of stillness I’ve carved out in my routine, like sacred bookmarks in the midst of a busy page.
And no, my life isn’t stress-free, far from it.
I’m a stay-at-home mom. I’m in nursing school. I also work at a local hospital.
I juggle real responsibilities and messy days like everyone else.
The difference now is: I don’t wait to exhale.
I credit much of this shift to what I learned through Urban Zen Integrative Therapy. That training taught me how to tune into my body’s needs, how to notice tension, fatigue, emotion and respond with compassion, not avoidance. I’ve woven those tools into my everyday life: restorative yoga, mindfulness, journaling, breath awareness, essential oils, not as a to-do list, but as a way of being.
If you’re feeling burnt out or stuck in a cycle of “push now, rest later,” I want you to know there’s another way.
Start small. One practice. Five minutes. A single breath.
Light a candle. Stretch for five minutes. Sit in silence before checking your phone.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s peace.
Not more on your plate, but more presence with what’s already there.
You don’t need a vacation to feel rested.
You need permission to live like you don’t have to escape your life.
And if you’re curious about the self-care practices that anchor me daily, I share them in this upcoming post: 7 Must-Read Self-Care Practices