It was early June 2021. The last day of school ended just the week prior, and summer break was officially in full force. We didn't really have any plans for the summer...at least not to go out of town. For the most part, we planned to follow our usual summer routine. Go to the pool, visit some new-to-us parks, go to some local festivals, eat copious amounts of ice cream, and watch some movies here and there. But we hadn't made any plans to go on a trip, not even a staycation.
One afternoon, John let me know that his work schedule had changed and that he would be able to take some vacation days earlier than we anticipated, in addition to his scheduled days off. We wondered what to do since the boys weren't in school, I was still a stay-at-home mom and wife at the time, and now he had some extra days off from work.
I had been dreaming of going on a vacation for months at that point, and it seems like John had the same idea because he said, "What do you think about going to the mountains?"
He saw the hesitation on my face. I'm a planner, especially when it comes to trips. I like to plan trips well in advance, even if it's only a couple of hours away. There's just too much to do, especially with three small children. We have to pack clothes, shoes, toiletries, electronics (chargers, etc.), and snacks. So many things. So many lists to go over. The thought of making a last-minute trip made me anxious.
"We don't have to go," John says. "We can still do a lot of stuff here."
"I'll think about it," I said.
Later that afternoon, or maybe early evening, I grabbed my laptop and began looking up events in the mountains and places to stay. I had been dying to finally visit Helen, Georgia, for a while now. It looked like the perfect place to go for the summer and escape the heat for a few days. While the boys were playing, John came upstairs and saw that I was looking up cabins and Airbnbs. I smiled at him.
"What do you think? A cabin or a hotel room?" I asked.
"Cabin!", we both said at the same time.
"If we're going to the mountains, we might as well go for the cabin. Make it somewhat authentic," I said.
"Authentic would be more of a tent," John said.
"Um, no. We are not sleeping in a tent," I laughed.
That evening, we booked the cabin for a few days. The kicker: the first available day they had for the cabin, for the number of days we planned to stay, was the next day. It was either book that night and leave tomorrow for Helen, or we wouldn't be able to go at all. Cue the stress of packing late into the night. After packing and double-checking everything, we were as ready as we could be.
The next morning, after we all had breakfast, packed everything into our car, and locked up, I called Mami right as we were about to head out.
"Mami, if you try to get in touch with me and I don't answer...don't panic. We are ok. We're going to be out of town for a few days," I said.
"What?" she asked, surprised.
"We're going to the mountains, so we may not have the best cell reception, especially when we go out on the trails and in the parks," I said.
"When did you plan this?" she asked.
"It was a last-minute trip," I answered.
"You never make last-minute trips," she replied, still surprised.
"I know," I smiled.
"Ok. Well, have fun and be safe. Let me know when you guys get there," she says.
The trip was amazing, and we had a blast. It was fun to go off script and not have an itinerary on our trip. We simply went where we wanted to go and experienced a new place without a schedule. To this day, Helen is still one of my favorite places to visit.
That impromptu trip really taught me a lot. It made me realize that it's ok to just wing it sometimes. I don't need to have a rigid plan for everything. It's ok to step out of my comfort zone. Honestly, being able to surprise the boys with this random trip to the mountains was probably the highlight of the trip. Have I detoured from my routine and gone off script since then? Yes, and honestly, it's been worth it. The initial hit of anxiety and stress quickly moves away when I think of all the possible memories we can make. It makes me think of my siblings, who are always carefree and all about spontaneity. Although I wouldn't say I will always be spontaneous, I admit I am now more confident about going off script and letting loose. We only have one life to live, and as the kids say, "YOLO" (or do they not say that anymore?). Here's to embracing more unscripted days.
This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale —an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Unscripted".
