Being Spontaneous

If there is one thing I love in this world, it's an impromptu trip. Especially one home to Denver.

Let me rewind for a second. Every year my parents throw an amazing company Christmas party that their employees chat about for months to come. I am usually in attendance at this party, but this year, sadly, I wanted to get some more hours in at work to help pay off some high credit card bills--I have a shopping problem, I have acknowledged and accepted it. As a result, my travel plans home for the holidays had me missing out on the infamous festivities. However, things were in my favor this year.

My boyfriend is taking grad school classes online because his company will pay for it and he wants to get his Masters taken care of sooner rather than later. But because he took on two classes, he has had a lot of work to do, and his stress level is beyond a normal, healthy state. With the knowledge that his finals are next week, being around the apartment can be a large distraction for him, and I have nothing to do whatsoever, he decided he would pack up his things and head home to Crystal Lake for the weekend in the hopes of getting some real hard core studying done. When my mom heard this, she made a snap decision: Home was not the answer, he needed the apartment to himself. So she jumped online, found some great prices for flights, and booked me a ticket home to Denver. This way, not only would I be gone and out of his way, but I would also get to join in on the Christmas party tomorrow night.

When she called me last night in sheer delight of this plan, I was a little apprehensive. Did it really make sense to go home for a couple days, come back to Chicago to work for a few days, and then head straight back to Denver? Did I even have the time to do it? Would it be too stressful of a trip because it was so quick? After I had a moment to think about it, I realized I was the only one creating the stress in this situation. I have no commitments right now to hold me back, and I should take advantage of that while I still can--before classes start again and a full-time job becomes my life. Plus, as my boyfriend so astutely pointed out, I rarely get to see my parents--maybe two or three times a year, if I'm lucky. This year I have been lucky enough to see them more, and this was just one more opportunity. And I don't want to sound presumptuous, but these company Christmas parties are the best. It seemed too good to pass up. After rearranging some plans, I called my mom back and told her I was coming. She was elated.

I am aware of the fact that most people do not have this kind of time to just book a spontaneous trip somewhere for the weekend. But if by some chance you can find an extra day or two and a decent price on a flight--trust me there are many--then it may be worth a spur-of-the-moment vacation. Even if it's just up to a cabin a couple hours away, or into a city the next state over. Or maybe splurge for something bigger, a quick trip to Florida, California, the Bahamas. It can be anything you want it to be, and with all the obligations we have nowadays, wouldn't it be nice to just throw that schedule away for a few days and fly by the seat of your pants?