A Vacation to Change Your Life
Two working moms escape for a long weekend and return happier, more patient parents.
9/2007
In between volunteering at the preschool, the two began fantasizing about a weekend trip to the tropics. The only catch was paying for it while still having money left over for bills. Then Shine saw an ad in the Seattle newspaper for cheap packages to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. "Alaska Airlines was offering vacations for $450 for airfare and hotel," she says. "That was a deal from Seattle." So what if they had to travel during hurricane season? "We're Seattle-ites," says Shine. "We didn't care. It was still better there in October than it was here."
It was spring when Shine sleuthed the affordable fares, and soon the two were concocting ways to save for a trip the following fall. Linde calculated that by bringing a homemade lunch to work instead of buying hospital cafeteria food three days a week, she'd be able to save without taking away from the family budget. Shine planned to use her waitress tip money to pay for family expenses and save her waitress paycheck, which at the time—ten years ago—was about $2.75 an hour, for Mexico. It took six months, but by October the two had what they needed.
Entrusting their children to their fathers, Shine and Linde took off for four days. Despite never having been on a trip together, they proved to be excellent travel companions. They found beaches the locals frequented and enjoyed food and drink at non-touristy restaurants by night. "It cemented our friendship," says Shine.
It also provided just the right amount of relaxation and perspective for each to return to her life renewed and motivated. "That trip, coming where it did in our young children's lives, rejuvenated us," says Shine. "It was long enough to get a little rest and to miss our children and husbands. The trip fortified the ensuing year of parenting and partnering."
The trip was such a success, in fact, that Shine and Linde went again a year later. Shine believes the effort to make time for themselves may have contributed to their career successes back home. Almost a decade later, Shine is the artistic director of the Seattle Shakespeare Company and one of the Northwest's leading Shakespeare practitioners; Linde is her hospital's chief of staff, head of her clinic, and a highly respected family doctor. Coincidence? Perhaps not, says Shine. "That trip helped us realize ourselves as full people."
It also helped their husbands. Their friends admired the men's willingness to watch the kids while Shine and Linde ventured out. "At the time, we didn't get a lot of credit among our preschool moms, but our husbands were completely lauded for letting us go," says Shine. "Our husbands became husbands of the year both years, and Mary and I had the time of our lives."
Details
What they did: a weekend in Cabo San Lucas away from husbands and kids
Prep time: six months
Total vacation time: four days
Total cost: $650 plus food and souvenirs
Trip tips:
- Pack light, stay flexible.
- Find a travel buddy for motivation.
- Plan to spend time together but also take an afternoon for yourself.
- Find creative ways to save money: Bring lunch rather than buy, and earmark some of the money you earn.
- Travel off-season for cheap fares and package deals.
- Allow realistic planning time: long enough to save but short enough to keep the dream.
- Select a destination close enough so you don't waste time traveling.
For more stories about dream vacations, see the September 2007 issue of Natural Health. And tell us about your dream vacation (the one you've taken or the one you want to take) at naturalhealthmag.com/shareyourstories.
