We’re posting this Marriage Monday from the Fairfield Inn in Boston. It’s the last night of a five day vacation for two that we took exploring the coast from Boston to Bar Harbor, Maine. Once in Maine, Mark officiated a wedding for some dear friends of ours. That was the goal of the trip, but we extended it out to include some time for us. We teasingly decided Mark needs to start a new business: Will Marry For Travel.
Mark says…
This time away for just Jill and I has been so important. We’ve talked. We’ve laughed. We’ve gotten lost together as we explored parts of the country we’d never seen before.
I’ll admit that many times this week I said to myself, “Oh, my boys would just love this.” I’ve missed them and wanted them to have the same opportunity as me. But Jill and I needed the time together…and that’s the priority. What’s best for my boys more than seeing Boston is seeing Mom and Dad investing in their marriage.
Jill says…
Mark and I learned a long time ago of the value of a vacation for two every 2-4 years. We save a little bit of money every month toward that goal. Other than finances, childcare is, of course, the biggest challenge. Even though my boys are in high school, I’m not exempt from having to make those arrangements. Here’s how this week worked:
The boys were at church camp from Sunday to Friday. We left on Tuesday and will return Monday late afternoon. Erica and Kendall were visiting for three weeks so they were to cover childcare from Friday until Sunday when Anne and Rilyn came to visit for a week. Then Kendall’s army orders were changed and they had to take off for Ft. Hood, Texas on Thursday. I’m suddenly making frantic phone calls to get someone to cover the weekend. I was able to reach a single gal in our church who gladly said she’d cover Friday to Sunday. Once that was covered, I could enjoy the rest of the time together.
I share all of that to help you know that even the best of plans can be challenged at times…and especially for the mom this is the biggest challenge of any kind of getaway. Even though it was stressful and crazy trying to make all the plans, it was still worth it!
We’ve had a blast this week and I’m so glad we took the time!
What about you? Would you be willing to dream with your spouse and start planning a vacation for two sometime in the future? If you’ve taken a vacation for two, how did you make it work?
We LOVE Bar Harbor!! We took our last vacation as a family of two there and loved exploring the island – though I don't recommend actually swimming in the freezing cold ocean! We're only an hour south of Boston so I'm hoping to get up there this summer with my kids for some history lessons.
As far as a vacation just the two of us, that's a tough one. Having 4 kids 20 months to 7 years makes getting a sitter difficult and all our family live in TX and AR. I'm hoping we can schedule 1 night away this fall. Until then we are working on having a real date at least once a month. That's a big improvement for us.
My hubby and I have been chatting about this very thing. We have a daughter who has very special needs, brain injury similar to CP. We went on a trip 2 years ago for our 10yr. anniv. I told him the other day that I want to start planning our 15 since it is only 3 years away. I want us to go to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahama's. How cool and romantic would that be. I sit and dream about it. I know that God desires for us to rekindle our marriage and to enjoy one another. The demands of life drain all we moms have and so we need to refuel. We are even looking at a smaller get away this fall. It's been too long. Glad to hear you have had a rekindling (is that a word) vacation! Thanks too for setting the example.
blessings,
Tricia in KY
Hi Jill, I was reading your blog about you and Mark on vacation. Its kinda funny, Tony and I are taking our first vacation together since we have been married, it will be 27 years, when we go. Whats funny about it is that we are going to Las Vegas and since this is our first vacation with out the kids, I cannot help but Im sure there are going to be, the kids will like this or the kids would like that, but I cannot wait for this "2nd honeymoon".
Karen Przybyszewski Stevenson
We loved visiting Boston last summer before my husband deployed. We are hoping to have a husband/wife only vacation after he gets home. I can't wait! I wanted to let you know that we are stationed at Ft. Hood if your daughter needs any local support or church recommendations, etc. My email is on my profile.
Blessings!
Shannon
That seems so far off for my husband and I. We have an almost three year old son, and then just had a baby boy on June 21st. It does not seem like there will be us, alone time any time soon. I think this blog is a great idea, but I also know it may just be 2-4 years before I can even imagine it, let alone see it into being. Glad you enjoyed Maine with your husband.
Blessings to you both!!