This is not the post about how grateful I am for Hubby’s job. I’ve written those and I will again.
There are words I love…
“Vernacular”
“Abhor”
“Prefer”
And words I hate, mostly introduced into pop culture by some idiot …
All texting acronyms…
&
“Bling“
“Cougar”
&
“Staycation“
The very word makes me want to gag.
Can you tell by my last few posts (or lack of) that I am hot, crabby and pregnant.
And this week I get to be all those things with Hubby around. (Poor Guy) He is taking his vacation time.
“Staycation” is some totally sh- – ty word that was made up by some jerk to make people feel good about not being able to afford to leave home for vacation.
Well, I don’t feel good about it.
As a matter of fact, I think it SUCKS.
My husband works so dang hard…
SO physically HARD
and it’s NEVER enough.
Ever.
I have put $100 worth of gas in my Suburban in the last seven days and you know where I have gone?
The grocery store,
My Moms,
The Midwife,
and garage sale-ing… in my own town… twice.
Now it’s easy to go on autopilot reading that but let me say that again…
ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS SPENT ON GAS! We are so desensitized! That is a TON of money to get from point A to point B a handful of times!
Staycation… bah.
A friend recently asked me if I had the “honey-do” list ready to go and trust me… I’ve got one… and it’s a mile long, especially with a baby on the horizon… but I can hardly bring myself to bring it up.
“Hey babe, I know you have the week off…
BUT could you…
Install the tile, toilet and sink in the downstairs bathroom, (cause if I have to walk upstairs to pee one more time I might have a hissy… oh wait, I’ve already had like three of those today… sorry),
Vacuum and tidy the basement,
While you’re down there, move the washer and dryer over to the north wall and get rid of the “shower” hanging over the washing machine,
Paint Juliette’s room,
Paint the new baby’s room after we move all the crap in there down to the basement,
Paint the kitchen cause I don’t think I can take one more day of “Provence Yellow”… 7 years is enough,
Help me pull some weeds,
Fix the two broken kitchen drawers,
Install a lock on the garden gate…
Oh and while you’re at it,
my alcohol/blood level is dangerously low for such gorgeous summer weather.
Could you mix me up a pitcher of your fabulous margarita’s for me to sip on into the evening??”
… oh wait, I’m super pregnant. There will be know Frozen Rita’s for me this summer.
Now, we haven’t taken a real vacation in over seven years and I know, for a lot of people, it’s been a lot longer than that. This is not the time to lecture me about being a Princess – this Momma is already ticked enough. I am well aware people are suffering around the world.
I’m no princess. I grow a garden, have three kids, homeschool, drive 1997 vehicles and make my own laundry detergent for crying out loud.
ALL BY CHOICE mind you, I am not waving the “Poor Me” flag. But I miss the days of a REAL vacation (IE: Paris, Florida, St. Martin and the Thorp House Bed and Breakfast – not the kind where you
rent a cottage and cook all your own meals and feel guilty about the ones that you don’t.
This economy “sucks.”
As icky as it is I LOVE THAT WORD too but never get to employ it on account of My Chickens.
I feel as though we are all being programmed to be happy doing with less. As if it’s some crime to want a better life than the one you had as a child, that it’s a crime to want to go on vacation, like you should feel bad about it cause some idiot in Washington can’t figure out what a BUDGET is!!!
Doing with less is fine... if it’s my choice. We are not big consumers anyways and proud of it! I may love fashion, makeup and designing my home and I love coming up with ways to do all that for less… WHEN IT’S MY CHOICE... not because it cost’s $5 to buy healthy milk for my kids and $15 for my husband to drive to and home from work every day.
My SIL was just griping in my comment box about the fact that there is really no “saving” of money with all this frugal-do-yourself cooking and shopping we do. She is so right. I may make my own detergent, but it’s not so I can pocket the money to SAVE (what’s that??) for a rainy day. Or a real vacation, for that matter. It’s because buying Tide regularly would probably break us.
Oh, I suppose I should feel bad for wanting a bigger family too. After all, us procreators don’t exactly fit into “green” cars. And we make a lot of dirty laundry.
Which all comes back to my longing for a REAL vacation. Me and hubby in a lawn chair, munchkins frolicking in the surf… maybe even a decadent cousin brought along to babysit while we go out at night…
Staycation. BAH!
You know what “staycation” means for Momma?
It means
“Keep doing what you were doing*.”
Which reminds me, the laundry needs to be moved along. And I guess I’ll go make dinner now.
*Thanks Mom for the hilarious definition while we were on the phone the other night!
Amen!
My mom also had a list of words she hated. Fabric. Burger. Burrito. Panties. Cool. Any slang words for bodily functions or body parts (aka “gams”). Growing up, we were not to say them under any circumstance.
As for staycations, I don’t think I’ve ever been on a “real” vacation. Certainly nothing along the lines of Paris or St. Thomas.
My mom had a list of words she hated. Fabric. Burger. Burrito. Panties. Cool. Any slang word for bodily functions or body parts (i.e. “gams”). Growing up we were not to say them under any circumstance.
As for staycations, I don’t guess I’ve ever been on a “real” vacation.
Bwaahahahahahahah! So funny! SO TRUE! Every single word is true!!!
My hubbt travels for work for his business and I go when I can.. guess who is STAYCATIONING home/ ME! Because me going would add and extra hotel.
Yep. staycation for me.
Great great true post!
Have a pretty day!
Kristin
my sentiments exactly, only you have a much better way with words! BRAVO. t. xoxoxo
I remember these days so well…staying home and getting things accomplished…you are so good for not going into debt to go away. Buy the kids a pool and have a ball at home, let them make s’mores and construct and sleep in a tent one night this week, in the living room, of course! I wish I could come and get you and bring you to Lake Michigan in a little cottage, I DO! But one day, things will get better if Obama doesn’t completely do us in!!!
XOXO
Joni
I hear ya, but for different reasons. I may be going out of town up the coast for a few days with some other single blogger moms (isn’t that cool?), but I miss the days of traveling with my globetrotting husband. I feel stuck at home without him. If he were here, I know we would have taken a family vacation even with the new baby. It would have been doable together. Sigh…
Staycation? That’s a new word to me but there again we call vacations holidays.
We did have a family holiday this year to New Zealand – could only afford this because we stayed with family over there. Real beds instead of sleeping bags was luxury for me. All our other family holidays once we entered big family territory involved camping. A few memorable experiences have put me off camping – one a massive hailstorm, another a fly plague of Biblical proportions and another a camp where there was no toilet. Aha – this is what they mean by bush camping in Oz! I was so not going to go behind a tree I sneaked into the outside composting loo of a vacant holiday home! A year later I met a family who told me they owned a house in this area, they described it and I realized it was the very house with the very handy outside toilet. Can you imagine it Ang? ‘Oh yes, I know the house, I trespassed on your property to use your toilet.’ Camping versus staycations and I’d know what I’d choose!
Love……..xxx….
As a young couple, I actually liked the idea of a staycation, where we stayed in bed more, maybe made breakfast, but treated ourselves to lunch at a cafe and dinner ordered in (ate while playing boardgames).
Now, with motherhood looming, I totally see the appeal of getting away. Although I’m easy to please food wise (as long as it’s fresh), so we’re hoping to rent a cottage/condo on the beach next summer with the little one and fend for ourselves food wise (since really she’ll still be on breastmilk).
oh mercy.
i guess i’m on stay-cation with you;)
and i suppose i too dont know what a real vacation is, but i feel your pain mama 😉
word. i swear i miss the gold old dot com days.
ouch! ouch!!!
I have been having an wonderful what I call “vacation” and you call-“not the kind where you
rent a cottage and cook all your own meals-” and lovin’ it! I hate eating out anyway except for occassionaly….
i have been posting photos.
i was under the impression that a “staycation” is where you go some where and just stay there to relax etc. We offer haycations here at the farm to cottage guests 🙂
I have never been on what you call a “vacation” even when the money was big here… but i am ok with that.
And SHOCK AND AWE COMING: i am not blaming it all on obama… WOW, i really said it and i believe it! We were due for this mess long before he got here even though i am not a fan of him.. Its called “we are reaping what we have sown”…
so there ya have it.
Oh man…did you read my diary? 🙂 I am in a similar boat and you’re right,it sucks. Funny how the citizens of this country have to cut back just to survive, but our government can keep spending and spending.
pictures of our “not the kind where you
rent a cottage and cook all your own meals” are here http://www.eclecticculturefarm.blogspot.com
🙂
No worries on a staycation Ang, why don’t you just go “glamping” – now that is the word that truly gags me with my pitchfork already…
http://www.angiepologie.com
I haven’t been on a real vacation in 8 yrs. All my money has been going into travel lately for college visits. We try so hard to make the most of them, though. They are out of town and whirlwind; however, I feel fortunate to be able to take my child to see the potential colleges she may call home for 4 yrs (yikes, this time next year we’ll be making one more of those trips to drop her off!). Trust me, on a single parent income under 50K/yr, these trips have been a mighty stretch!
Hmmmmm….anytime I am with the people I love and they are healthy and happy, it is a vacation for me.
WOW! ….I agree with ALL and I have been unable to rant because I felt guilty!Thank you for speaking for us all.I read to my husband and HE agrees as well!What does working get us?!!
You go Sister! My husband also works hard 6-12hr days(I work 4-9hr days)!To be unable to go on vacation! We don’t live “high on the hog”! We have two kids and a mortgage and live in California so be greatful!?? Sheesh rude!How much more can we all take 🙁
I love reading your blog it lightens my days 🙂 Thank you!
I don’t think I’d staycation very well. If I’m home and my husband is off, it would be hard to resist the temptation to accomplish something around the house. One thing I’d like to do soon is to get on price line around 9 one evening, and try for a 4- or 5-star hotel on the cheap for the night. A mini-mini vacay! 😉
I too HATE the word “Staycation” but I have to say my husband and I have been doing it for years. But it’s different when you choose to do it versus when you HAVE to do it.
Choosing to do it meant (years ago when the kids were still at home) sending the kids to gramma and grampa’s for a few days. Getting some good food in the fridge, some good movies stocked up, line up our massage therapist friend to come over and give us a massage then unplug the phone and relax.
By choice it was fun. NO packing, no hassles and we do enjoy our home. But when you have no other choice and the kids are involved…yeah it bites!
What makes it worse is that all the politicians and bankers aren’t worrying about paying their bills and you know they’re taking plenty of vacations. Annoying!
Hang in there kiddo.
I’ve never been out of my home state of Texas, and havent’ been away from home for more than 3 nights in many years. I don’t appreciate being told “we all need to share the burden” while our President and his family are on constant vacations that require numereous jets, helicopters and an entourage of people to serve them!
Blessings,
Lorilee
Amen, Sister! You have just summed up EXACTLY how I’ve been feeling for a while—accounting for many of my outbursts and hissies! I need to get out of here!
Our 3 kiddos feel the same way! We’ve always travelled and had fun adventures–introducing them to wonderful places. Handsome & I were professionally ballet dancers before starting our family–always on traveling adventures. BUT, not the past 4 years! Ugh! The woo has been removed from the hoo!
I so feel your pain!!! We just had a “staycation”, and that’s what we have had to do for the last few years. But your SO RIGHT…..a staycation means LESS time for mom to do all the work she needs to do, because we are going to the park, or a drive, or a picnic….THEN I have to go home and do everything I didnt get done during the day. So my days are much longer, and I get more tired.
I finally got brave and told my hubby it’s NOT a vacation for me if I have 50% less time to do what I have to. So bless his heart he pitched in. He also insisted we go out to dinner a couple of times, he helped with dishes and laundry, and vacuumed. That definitely made it more do-able.
Yesterday someone offered me a house to use in Spain for free. In a year or two I may be able to take them up on it. :o)
I’m with you, staycations SUCK.
God bless, praying for baby,
Fi
I hate “staycation” too, and I even like staying home a lot of the time. I hate fake words in general!
when we built the wrap around porch and put on new siding … D. asked me ( before we broke ground) which I’d rather have … vacations or the new addition … we slit our wrists and made a pact together in blood sweat and tears … kidding
I chose the porch … so now I break ground in the garden and then go sit my bum on the porch … my vacation is a candle and good red!
wish we were neighbors, we could stay doing what we’re doing … in tandem
Right on the money (or lack thereof). You said it Mama!
Jumping in late here…two years later…but hey!
I too hate the word “staycation.” it makes ME want to gag too!
I live in dread of humid weather. What’s so great about hanging around the house (or driving somewhere in the car with the broken AC I can’t afford to fix)? Even if we go swimming for the day, I feel like, big effing deal. If I had money to go to a bunch of museums etc. I might have money to go stay somewhere overnight.
Hope you are doing OK with “new” baby (two years later!) and all.
Bless you for your honesty.