The past couple of weeks my anxiety has slowly been climbing after having talked to someone special to me about us possibly taking a trip together. While I’ve been romanticizing the idea of a getaway, imagining how relaxed I could be and all of the fun and exciting things I could be doing on this mini vacation, there’s still very much the anxiety of leaving my kids for a whole week when I’m used to being with them every day (and no they’re not tiny children, they’re 19, 15, and 12), there’s the financial aspect of it when I’m supposed to be saving for a home, when I have a car payment, car insurance and three phone bills to pay for, not to mention that my kids depend on me to get them from point A to point B every single day, then there’s being in an unfamiliar place that should be exciting but just puts me on heightened alert, over-aware of all of the things that could go wrong while I’m on vacation- both where I’m at and with my kids at my parent’s house.
So how do I handle this climbing anxiety?
This weekend I indulged. Maybe not the most productive coping mechanism but I went to my favorite jewelry shop (she makes a lot of her own pieces, if not all, by hand) and bought a beautiful seashell bracelet, I went out to lunch with my 15 year old daughter after we went to church, and then I took my 13 year old out for an extravagant milkshake.
Indulging doesn’t have to look like spending a lot of money though. It could be relaxing in the bathtub with my favorite cup of tea, reading a book in the sun by the pool, a mani-pedi at home (which I haven’t done in a long time but now that I’m thinking of it it sounds like a great idea.💡 )
It could be binge watching movies at home in my sweats while eating popcorn, trying out a whole four course meal from a cooking channel and enjoying it all by myself, using that special body oil that I never quite have enough time to use during the week- instead slathering on lotion in the car while running late to work.
Taking time to myself doing something that I want to do has a great impact on my anxiety. Not only am I relaxing and getting some quiet time for myself but I’m empowering myself to let go of the anxiety for awhile. Realistically, all week long nothing negatively life changing happens and I can take a few hours to take care of me while remembering that it’s highly likely that nothing life changing will happen when I stop for a moment and breathe.
Dandelion Wishes 
I really do understand the anxiety of leaving home and overthinking all of the possibilities that could go wrong both at home and your destination. But… maybe the kids will have chances to form bonds between themselves because you’re not there to direction what they need to do and when. Maybe the break time from you being the director (controller) of what happens in the home will give you some confidence that you’ve raised/are raising responsible children who are able to do something you’ve always done for them, giving you the option of assigning more responsibilities to them, thus giving YOU more free time. Maybe your destination will have perfect weather the entire time you are there. Maybe this person with whom you will travel and you will forge an even deeper and more meaningful relationship because you can focus on each other without the normal distractions.
We are all so quick to think about all of the things that might go wrong, increasing our anxiety. If we focus instead on the things that might go right, it will, instead, increase our anticipation!
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