Our canceled vacation

When summing up my recent frugal activities, I mentioned the biggest money saving thing of all, which wasn't a very conscious frugal thing technically, but still saved us quite a lot. We were supposed to go on a short vacation, just like we did last year, but was canceled due to different unforeseen circumstances- floods in the area where we wanted to go, among other reasons. Fortunately, we never book anything beforehand, so that wasn't an issue. To be honest, I don't mind it at all- I'm a homebody, I love being at home, relaxing, peace and quietness, and just doing everyday things. And I have a hard time with change. By the time I've adjusted to the new temporary environment, it's usually time to head back home... Which is another adjustment to deal with again! That doesn't mean I don't enjoy vacations at all, it's just that I don't really miss it. It's that the children like to go on holiday, but I wouldn't necessarily do it for myself. 

But here's the interesting part. While vacationing can be done for many reasons, people usually go on vacation to recharge themselves kind of, escaping their busy and complicated lifestyles so they can manage somewhat and wontburn out. They literally need a break and feel the need to escape for a while. It's interesting how vacations were almost nonexistent around 100 years ago, despite the lower standards of living generally. As people gained more wealth, so did vacationing become more common. This is a bit ironic to me- you'd think that with a hard, poverty stricken life, you'd need to escape every so often more than anything. But apparently, the wealthier kind of lifestyles, despite all the comfort, are quite tiring as well. More stuff usually means more worries. Not just more stuff- more appointments, more everything... I would be stressed out too. 

We, on the other hand, made a conscious decision to have a slower, more simple life, which is also probably why it's not really a big deal that we didn't do a holiday trip this summer. It's almost like our life is a holiday in and of itself- well, not completely, but by just doing what makes us happy, not worrying too much over small things or people's opinions and being in a beautiful environment. I once read a quote saying "I want a life that you don't need to escape from with a vacation" (or something similar). And that was really relatable! Not only do I want that, I also feel like we're living such a lifestyle already- or are very close to anyhow. The children said that they too didn't really mind their vacation being canceled, which probably has to do with peer pressure (or the lack thereof). Not many of their classmates would actually go on a vacation anyway. Those that do, most probably wouldn't even go abroad, but instead go to this country's coastal region (which is a few hours driving from where we live). I'm glad that there isn't very much pressure here to have the newest stuff, farest vacation and biggest car. That really does put so much pressure on kids, as well as on their parents. I personally find it odd that there can be pressure on parents to take children on a vacation because otherwise they must be poor, neglected and have a miserable childhood, even though vacationing isn't something people have always done, but is rather a modern phenomenon. I'm glad that pressure (and even worse: bullying) is nonexistent here, and I feel sorry for parents that take their kids on vacations just so their kids don't get bullied, especially for people whose finances are tight and that money could have been spent in better ways. 

I think it all comes down to mindset. If vacations are essential to you it must be quite miserable not to be able to pay for one. If you don't value it that much, it's a whole different story. I think people should reeducate themselves about keeping themselves and the kids entertained at home and to enjoy the small pleasures of a simple way of life. I'm not saying people can't go on a trip if that's what they like, but just a suggestion as to what's possible if going on a trip is too expensive, or impossible for whatever reasons. 

So anyways, our vacation plans being canceled wasn't a big deal to us. And it saved us a lot of money! Either way, we all did enjoy our three month long summer break.