Some of us will be journeying.  Others will be taking respite on the beach.  Others still will be doing a bit of both.  I fall into the latter most category.

Yes, I have made plans to visit several of my far away family members this summer — making up for lost time.  I also am considering enjoying a “Me” vacation, one in which I will be ‘kicking it up’ alone — filled with guilty pleasures of my own choosing. 

I honestly believe more people need to take a “me” vacation because frankly, we all need “me” time, including when we get away.  But how many of us truly do. 

Saddled with the demands of the cohort we travel with, the routine may change but the relaxation remains the same…next to none.  Am I right?  Worse yet, many of us become the pack-horses for the many others we are either paying for to come along or invited to join for sheer company.  

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve relished the many incredible vacations that I’ve had traveling with my loved ones.  That said, I’ve grown extremely fond of those vacations where I lavish myself ‘only’ — made up of sleep, adventure, culture, great reads, amazing spa treatments, periods of meditation and reflection, and no schedule to discuss with anyone.  “I feel like a new woman at the end of each one,” says this single mom of five.  

As this year has been an especially stressful and busy year, I definitely feel a “Me” vacation coming on.  In fact, I spent an hour or so today figuring out where I may just end up.  The current list includes Bonaire, Alaska, Naples (Fl), Aruba, Costa Rica and Curacao. 

If any of you have a suggestion to add, let me know about them.  I will trade you this summer beach read suggestion below given by Teresa on Goodreads in the exchange.  It denotes another kinda journey altogether but a journey nonetheless:

“This book (aka “Be Careful What You Wish For”) will open your heart to believe in love. It’s a story of family, of love and even travels beyond the universe as we know it. I was thoroughly drawn in till the very end. You will enjoy the journey for sure.”

Whether flapping it or planting it, we all need a good book to read along the way this summer, now don’t we.  One deemed a “Readers’ Favorite” seal recipient is probably a great choice.  It guarantees, right off the bat, that this book won’t be a waste of your time or money.  

And like Teresa, and so many others, it may just have you believing in love again, especially the part where Rick, Evie and the bed that they ‘made love’ in somehow ends up on the opposite side of the room from whence they began.  (Taken from a true story, I can’t deny.)  

But you don’t want to know anymore about that. Or perhaps?