I Need a Vacation from Vacation

by jphilo | Aug 23, 2021 | Different Dream, Uncategorized

I Need a Vacation from Vacation

“I need a vacation from vacation,” I wanted to say soon after we came home after celebrating my husband’s retirement by traveling for most of July. The aftermath of being gone for so long was substantial–

Catching up everything that didn’t get done due to lack of reliable internet access.
Paying bills.
Dealing with on my mother’s latest health crisis.
Following up with workers about why the latest phase in our house remodel hadn’t been completed.
Digging out canning jars because the tomatoes and green beans are producing.

My immediate inclination was to throw a hissy fit and shout, “I need a vacation from vacation! I will never leave home for this long again. Not ever!”

My second inclination, which had to be the Holy Spirit’s intervention because I’m not capable of such restraint on my own, was to reflect upon the dear friends and familiar places visited during the past month. Without conscious thought my eyes closed. The inner movie reel of our vacation began to play.

I saw delight light up our six-year-old grandson’s face as he learned to Old Maid, Go Fish, and Slap Jack during the week he went camping with my husband and I. I heard his sweet voice when the time came for him to go home with his parents while Hiram and I continued our travels. “I could stay with you,” he lisped through the gaps where his baby teeth used to be, “because I know you’re going to miss me a lot.”

To read the rest of I Need a Vacation from Vacation, visit the Key Ministry website.

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Jolene Philo is the author of the Different Dream series for parents of kids with special needs. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. She’s also the creator and host of the Different Dream website. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and at Amazon.

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First World Problems and Caregiving Problems

First world problems and caregiving problems are dominating my life right now. They’ve made re-entry after a month-long trip to celebrate my husband’s retirement rather rocky. Here are a few examples of what’s been happening.

The installation of our new heating and cooling system required punching numerous holes in our walls. The work was supposed to be completed while we were gone, but won’t be done for weeks or possibly months.

That’s a first world problem.

Hospice re-evaluated my mother after she had bouts of major confusion and agitation while we were gone, but she still doesn’t qualify for their services.

That’s a caregiving problem.

The morning after a heavy rain, we discovered a leak in the new addition just as a workman came to deal with a backed up basement drain.

First world problem followed by first world problem.

My mother keeps asking when she gets to move in with us. I keep telling her that as long as work delays continue and our walls are pocked with holes, it’s not safe for her to move in.

That’s a caregiving problem solved by a first world problem.

That final confluence of first world problems and caregiving problems got me thinking about how they’ve impacted my life in the past.

Our newborn son’s condition at birth was an age old problem. His diagnosis and surgery at birth caused a host of complications and subsequent surgeries. Those complications were first world problems.

Had our son been born in a different country, not to mention in a different day and age, he wouldn’t be alive today. In other words, first world solutions for his condition caused first world problems and caregiving problems that our family dealt with for years. During those years, all my thoughts, all life revolved around my son.

To read the rest of First World Problems and Caregiving Problems visit the Hope Anew website.

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the monthly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.

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Jolene Philo is the author of the Different Dream series for parents of kids with special needs. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. She’s also the creator and host of the Different Dream website. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and at Amazon.