One September about twelve years ago I made a phone call to a previously unknown-to-me condominium complex in Port Aransas, Texas, and reserved a three bedroom condo on the 5th floor.
I needed to escape.
Not a permanent escape, of course. Just a few days all to myself, where I didn't have to cook anything, clean anything, be anywhere at a certain time, make any phone calls, settle any arguments, attend any meetings...
I could just take care of myself and no one else.
And my body literally ached, mentally and physically, for the beach. For the lounging, the reading, the song of the surf and birds, the sun on my body.
A few margaritas sounded good, too.
So I rounded up some friends who needed a short escape just as much as I did (I couldn't afford that place by myself!) and we spent a glorious weekend on the coast.
Our condo overlooked the beach on one side and the bay on the other. I lucked out because some of the women relaxed by cooking and a few others by cleaning, so they got their dream weekend and I got mine!
(You can tell by the way I'm dressed... I'm the old lady in the middle... I really needed a Mommy break!)
I've gone back every fall except one, with mostly the same women, give or take ten or twenty. (It caught on, as you can imagine.)
Days of unscheduled time at the beach with dear friends, a good book, my camera, and a cocktail or two. That's my answer to BlogHer's Life Well Lived "Get Happy" Question of the Week...
What are your favorite relaxation techniques?
And what benefits do you see from practicing them?
Oh, I forgot to mention the benefits...
They're too numerous to count, but they include sanity, serenity, deeper friendships...
...Just one big <sigh> that lasts almost a whole year. (Two trips a year would be perfect. Maybe three to play it safe.)
So now tell me, because I'm nosy, what are your favorite relaxation techniques and what benefits do you see from practicing them?
(After sharing, visit the main post on BlogHer (here) and don't forget to enter the current Life Well Lived Sweepstakes! (here))
