Motherhood is hard. Wait, LIFE is hard. But the best part is we’re all in it together. Join me as we find our zen in the middle of parenthood, marriage, extended family, volunteering, and just generally enjoying our time here in Lake County.
Note that all opinions belong to me and only me and are not a reflection of our advertisers, partners, or other writers.
Creating my own Zen: Play Hooky
As the Cubs season gets underway, I sit here and daydream about playing hooky.
This time of the year, I get senioritis, spring fever, and sun withdrawal. It’s always a great time of year to play hooky from life (just for one day!). If you had a day to do WHATEVER you want (no judgment… this can be with kids or without, with your significant other or without, with your BFF or totally alone…). What would you do? Where would you go?
- Stay in your PJ’s all day? Hide from the world?
- Watch TV?
- Read a book from cover to cover?
- Eat out breakfast, lunch, second lunch, dinner, ice cream, second dinner, dessert?
- Shop all day?
- Throw a big party?
- Visit…. where in Lake County?
I’m a planner by nature. All of my vacation days are intentional. I have goals. I know, this isn’t normal. But every year, if I want to try something new or take my kids somewhere…I make it there. If they ask to go to a museum, I research free days and see if they have a day off school when we can make it there (it’s less crowded than the weekends). If I have a Groupon for a fun adventure, I plan it out and make sure we get there before it expires. I am focused. And if it’s written down a few weeks or months ahead of time, I have time to tweak it and get the most out of the experience. Of course, life happens, and sometimes I have all kinds of things planned, and then I get a sick kid. It all goes out the window. But then I try the next time again!
You remember the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, right? If he takes another day off, he’ll have to barf up a lung… Let’s make this day we play hooky COUNT!
If I were to plan my dream day of playing hooky in Lake County it would go something like this…
- Sleeping in, of course
- Breakfast at the Caboose Restaurant (now closed)
- Visit Independence Grove for a photo safari, hike, bike ride, or paddle boat ride
- Picnic lunch or somewhere magical like the Rainforest Café
(and even take the train to make it extra fun for the kids) - Make a new craft for me or to give as a gift
- Stop to pick up flowers on my way home
- Dinner at Lauretta’s Italian Café
- Watch a little league baseball game
- Ice Cream from Dairy Dream
- Catch a late-night movie with my whole family at the drive-in
Truth be told, if the Cubs have a home game at 1:20 p.m., then I’d scrap all these plans, head down to Ann Sather’s for Brunch and eat a hot dog at the ballgame while cheering on my team in the happiest place on Earth (sorry Disney!).
But seriously, after compiling my dream day, this really does sound fabulous, and I’ll have to schedule this awesome vacation day this coming spring! What do you have planned?
Cheryl is an aspiring writer from Mundelein. You can now follow her on her author journey on Amazon.
Get a copy of her first book, Letter’s to my Children, available on Kindle now.
Disclosure: Some links in this story are affiliate links. Little Lake County will earn a portion of sales made through these links and use it to cover the cost of running the site. Thank you for clicking!
Leave a Reply