If the COVID-19 spread never happened, I would now have been a Vegas resident for a week. This weekend, I would be getting comfortable in my tiny home on wheels and watching the sunset over the marina at Lake Mead, where I had planned to park my home for the next six months. Not surprisingly, as I’m still stuck in Atlanta, I chose to work through the vacation time I scheduled for May 18th to May 30th.
However, between the economic pressure and my wasband stalling the divorce for gods know what reason, I decided I needed a break before my brain exploded. So, with just 48-hours’ notice, I informed my clients I was taking five days off — and what a glorious five days they were!
Maybe you don’t have a wasband who won’t sign your divorce papers or maybe you’re already on an unplanned break from work. Even so, I bet you could also use a staycation. Here are five reasons I think you should go for it.
1. The Weather Is Great
No matter where you live in the United States, warm weather should begin to roll in by now. In Georgia, we do get quite a bit of rain, but we’re consistently in the 70s and 80s. I love warm weather, so I’m happy to have summer on the way.
With so many states and businesses reopening, outdoor recreational opportunities are probably once again a great way to entertain yourself while social distancing. You can finally go hiking, biking, and running again without other people flooding the trails.
2. Local Businesses Need to Recover
If you feel ready to brave the world outside your home or need to do so to work anyway, a staycation gives you the opportunity to support a few local businesses. Here are some of the many ways you can help:
- Enjoy a movie from the safety of your car at your local drive-in movie theatre, if you have one.
- Participate in virtual events hosted by local businesses, such as virtual workouts and virtual concerts.
- Order takeout from your favourite local restaurant and have a picnic in your yard or at a nearby park.
- Purchase books, music, paintings and other media created by local artists.
3. Making Money Isn’t Everything
According to CNBC, more than 13% of Americans are now unemployed. Many others might have also taken positions that left them underemployed, just to make ends meet. For those of us still working in our original positions, the pressure to keep that position by illustrating value has intensified.
This can make it extremely difficult to hang up your hat for the day and take a break — much less a few days to a week. Still, doing so is a great reminder that there is more to life than work. You’d be surprised what opportunities you might discover to permanently leave the rat race behind when you take breaks from it to pursue your hobbies.
4. You Need a Moment to Breathe
If you haven’t been working or you’re working less, your life might have slowed down immensely. However, if you’ve been following the news lately, it’s hard to keep up. Every month in 2020 seems to be in competition with the one before.
We rarely get a moment of quiet respite before something else erupts to create chaos and mass mayhem. From Whites protesting the right to drink at bars and get their hair done to Blacks and allies protesting police brutality and racial injustices … there isn’t enough popcorn in the world to watch 2020 unfold.
5. There Are Causes to Support
That brings us to the last big reason you need a staycation. As many people pointed out on Twitter, there are millions of people around the world with more time on our hands than usual. This created the perfect storm for the Black Lives Matter campaign to hit full strength.
If you are considering protesting or speaking out in other ways on this and other issues, taking some time off provides the perfect opportunity for you to do so. Don’t be an ostrich. Whether you volunteer, join the fight on social media, or become the one person protesting in your town, now is the time to do more than be silently enraged or embarrassed by social issues.
Five days was hardly enough time for me to relax and decompress, but it was a start. While work and money should not determine our lives, bills certainly do need to get paid. Here’s to hoping I’ll soon get to take the remaining 8 of the 13 days I was supposed to spend enjoying a new life in the Great American Desert.
I do hope that some local businesses recover.
Me too. Work has slowed down again for me over the last few days, so fingers crossed.
Hmm. I have never thought of doing a Staycation… I’ll try and do some of that! Yes, we’re all in quarantine, but we can make it as fun and enjoyable as possible. 😁
As long as you’re not working, it counts. ☺️ Sometimes, my brain just needs a rest!
Hey. Vegas is open! You can get right out there and get sick, or so the p.r. fails to mention. On the way to the casino here the governor(unhappy with the Tribal decision to reopen) has a flashing highway sign that says “Don’t Gamble With Your Life.” He knows the demographic that gambles here! Anyway good to know you are ok, though frustrated with the divorce paper hangup. Those wasbands have a lot of tactics up their sleeves.
“There isn’t enough popcorn in the world to watch 2020 unfold.” — Amen! I’ve been thinking the same thing. I’m not even sure I want to know what’s next.
I’m not sure I want to know either. Even after posting this, so much has happened!
I need a safe salon day – desperately!!!
I haven’t been to the salon in four years! 😅
Whoa!!!
I have totally needed the alone time that the coronapocalypse has given me. Staycation indeed🥰
I’m glad you’re enjoying that time to yourself! Nothing like some solo time to reflect and rebuild that bond with ourselves.
Especially after losing myself as I moved further and further out into the middle of nowhere following Sunshine’s dream.
I can totally understand that. I’m glad you’re using that alone time though. Too many people decide to try to fill that gap ASAP because they’re so terrified of being alone. I always wonder if they ever find out who they really are.
I don’t know who I am, but I was working on figuring out who I want to become. Then the coronapocalypse kicked off and now I just want to survive it🤨
Sometimes survival mode can teach you all the important things you need to know about yourself. ☺️
I see no lies here😗
Oh honey, I’m so glad you got a break. I’m here just waiting on June 19 to come! I’ll be off for 10 days but I have so many errands to do like finding an apartment, moving, securing a job + my medical licence since internship ends this month, plus car paperwork etc. so I’m not even that excited. But 2 days have already been reserved for fun so at least there’s that. 🙂
Moving again? Goodness! Where to, this time? That sounds like a very long list, by the way. Hopefully you get it all done at the start so you can relax after.
And thank you! I might take the last 8 days toward the end of this month. We’ll see!
Yup, unfortunately we’re only allowed to live at the doctors quarters for 1 year so now I have to pay unsubsidized rent sigh. I hope so too. Thank you. 🙂
And girl, take your break! I’m just counting down the days till mine, even if I’m not looking forward to the errands, but at least I can sleep at nights and turn off my phone!
Damn! Just one year? I guess it’s better than nothing but sometimes a year isn’t enough. 😳
I’m thinking of taking the last 8 days at the end of this month. We’ll see!
your trip is just “paused.” your adventure will gather speed again. patience, grasshopper.
😅 I’m doing my best! Tell my future llama friends I said hi!
Lol