For years, my husband and I lived life at a hundred miles an hour, juggling our teaching job, our relationship and our three children. However, the summer holidays were always an opportunity to do more. Jérôme and I have always loved to travel, visit, explore. We love nothing more than discovering the world, its people and its culture. And becoming parents didn’t change anything for us, except that he wanted us to tighten our belts a little more the rest of the year, so we could live our dreams.
When our twins and their little brother were young, this required a lot of organization. We had to leave with a ton of accessories and remember to plan outings between naps and meals, but that didn’t discourage us. Away from him. Later, we involved the children in preparing the trips and we adults made compromises to prevent them from getting bored and complaining once they arrived. I remember that the five of us sat on the sofa in the living room, we drew three columns on a sheet of paper – “must do”, “if we can” and “I don’t want to” – and then listed the visits and possible activities, according to the budget we established, and everyone had their opinion. It worked quite well. The goal is always to do as much as possible and fill all the boxes in our schedule.
Together, we went down the Nile and visited the most beautiful sites of ancient Egypt. We go through the cobbled streets of the cities on the Croatian coast, we travel through Norway from east to west, we go through the north of the Iberian Peninsula, we discover a lot of great cities, such as Barcelona, ​​​Rome, Madrid, Lisbon and New York. , and so on… Every time we went on vacation, I was happy, but tired. Because, every year, all I could do was guide tourists, to raise the level of travel, but also to anticipate everyone’s needs. It was me, for example, who always thought of taking a sweater when we left early in the morning, waiting for the coolness of the evening, or who looked for restaurants that would suit everyone.
I listened to my body and allowed myself to slow down
I also made sure that the children were always ready on time when we had excursions, and that they did not forget anything in their room on the day of departure. In short, holidays have never been easy for me. And I immediately followed with the stress of going back to school. Last year, neither Emma, ​​nor Louise, nor Paul could go with us.
Now they have their lives and it’s normal. Suddenly, I wanted something completely different. For the first time, I didn’t want to do anything, take it easy, lie down. And, above all, don’t go too far. With Jérôme, we rented a small AIRBNB in ​​Le Touquet, on the Opal Coast. To be honest, I was a little apprehensive about this stay. I was so afraid of being bored that I stuffed almost ten paper books into my suitcase. I also took my computer and bought a crossword magazine just in case.
The first few days, I felt compelled to be active. I went to ask the Tourist Office to find out if we could participate in congresses or sports courses (I saw myself trying golf). It was stronger, I had to hit the void. And then, I finally let go. I listened to my body and allowed myself to slow down. During these two weeks, I didn’t sign up anywhere, I didn’t bother with the meals (at lunch time, we ate on the street and, in the evening, we made pizza deliveries or went to a restaurant)… a barely read a few pages.
On the other hand, I learned to take a siesta after lunch, to sit on the terraces of the cafes to chat with Jérôme (or with the people) and, above all, to wander in the sun, letting my mind wander. And, surprisingly, he wasn’t a bit bored. I also found it rather enjoyable. I felt like I was connecting with myself. Repeat the experience? Why not, but still continuing to explore our planet. Because as long as I can do it, I won’t deprive myself.”