h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Excuse me if I'm not responding to journals about holidays, I really am feeling stuck in a rut but unable to move out. The last proper holiday I had was when I went to Kuwait in 1996, I was 41 then, I'm 54 now. Yes there've been trips away to London and Hull and the occasional outing with the kids but holidays they aren't. I did endure a mid-week break at Butlins Skegness in October 2003 following my wedding to he who shall not be named for fear of invoking the but that was a nightmare from beginning to end.

Holidays? Pah. unsub, unsub, unsub. Sorry *sulks in corner*

Fair enough...

Come stay with me sometime GB! I need someone to tell me what stars I can see!



ps bring Andrew too...

My last holiday was a week in Devon in 1984. I've never thought about complaining though. I've done a lot of other things in that time, moved house, changed jobs and seen my daughters grow into lovely adults. I've just never had a holiday. I can't see any time in the near future when I could afford one either.

my last holiday was to Los Angles in 1980 - I don't even know if our East coast is still there

I can afford a holiday I just *can't* get away. Between checking on my 90y.o. mother and minding my grandson, I probably should count my blessings that I have a family, there'll be people with no close family reading this and thinking "stupid woman!"

I aprreciate the offer lanza and I'd leave Andrew here to sit but I can't leave my Mum, sorry

Oh GB, I'm sorry. I think I'm getting near to that situation with my parents, and it's not a prospect I'm looking forward to. But at least I have two sisters to share the burden with, when it comes to that.

sitting is easy to arrange - not so the elderly parent.

Also remember I came here on vacation in 1997 and haven't gone home yet

Something about sunsets, and generally warm weather, and all that.

Not quite the same I know, but if you ever want a day away, we're just across The Bridge, and we can show you that the east coast still is there!

You are not on your own GB, I haven't had one since 1992.

Websailor

GN, is there no-one who could stand in for you with your Mum. You cannot be all things to all people, and you need a break, unless of course most of the time you secretly enjoy being needed? It is a trap we often fall in to, at the expense of our own health.

Websailor

Galaxy Babe the old fingers are stuck this morning,

Websailor

Seems to me that us smart people with aging parents should be able to come up with a service that confidently looks after our moms and dads in a very nice enjoyable place for a week or so while we take a breather. I'm sure it wouldn't fit every need, but a little creativity might make it so.

When my mom was 80 and refused to fly, we looked into a week at a "spa" type resort a short drive away with a literary seminar scheduled, and she had more fun than we did at Disneyworld.

She got her hair done, got a mani-pedi, met some authors, attended a short story symposium, talked to other people that shared her interests, etc. When she got back, she talked to the librarian at her local, and got involved in the programs there, and has been doing it ever since.

I know that the Alheimer's program here in Key West provides acute care breaks for primary caregivers as part of the program. It helps in really trying situations. Some use it one day a week; others take days away from time to time.

Maybe we're missing a big niche here.

If you can't go on holiday, can't the holiday come to you? After all, you live near the coast, (you can't imagine what it's like living 1000 kms from the nearest coast).

Treat your Mum - sit her near a beach with a while you scrunch your toes in the sand.

Plonk her at the hairdressers and just go to a cafe for an hour.

To make it a real holiday, just do that sort of thing for 2 weeks on the trot.

I always wonder what's so special about holidays, anyway. You have no washing machine, you have to find everything (from the loos to the best ice cream parlour), and you have to wait till people do things for you. Far easier being at home, especially with babies or old folks who need routine.

****

So if you did get to go on holiday, what would be your ideal destination?

Booking into a hotel where everyone panders to my every whim.

Just not being *on call* would be a holiday for me.

Canada...my daughter #2 went there in 2001 and saw the Aurora Borealisand I could combine whale-watching.