o, when I was packing for Hawai'i almost all the dresses I brought were white. Which sounds like a great idea until you have wet dyed hair that will dye anything it touches teal. Thankfully we had teal beach towels which were perfect for drying my hair without ruining white towels and I was pretty careful so I didn't get green dye on any clothes. Still, I think next time I go on vacation I'll have a hair color that doesn't want to dye everything in its path. It was fun to feel like a mermaid on the beach with my colorful hair, though!
I've been to Hawai'i a few times before. Growing up in Alaska it was where nearly everyone would escape to when they wanted to get away from the frigid winters since it was a short 5 hour flight away and anything else was about the same distance anyway (and not as warm). This time felt different though. It was the first time being there as a "real" adult and it was the first big vacation we've gone on since getting married. We've been on some smaller local trips, or trips back home to Alaska for the holidays, but nothing like a whole week of purely relaxation in a hot, tropical location. I think both of us were surprised how deeply refreshing and needed it was. It was like my brain had so much extra space to work on reevaluating life, brainstorming goals, and just having space to feel inspired without needing to manage all the clutter of daily life. I think as a creative business owner, you're never not working. Your brain is always tuned into your creative life, but it was great to devote time to being introspective about goals and desires. To write down ideas, sketch out mind maps, and read books that are motivating.
I also feel like it was super refreshing for our marriage, to just escape to somewhere totally different. All of our trips in the past three years have been to northwest places or Alaska, nowhere that was totally new and different for us. I hadn't been feeling super stale in our marriage or anything, but it was amazing how romantic it was to be together on a tropical island, feeling fun and sexy and carefree. I'm the kind of person who feels guilty indulging in self-care, so I tend to put my head down and just keep swimming, but I'm realizing the importance of coming up for air now and then. I think that keeping my head down, while it might make me feel like I'm working hard, can end up making me run myself into the ground. I have to remember that pausing, taking a breath, and bringing my head up to look around lets me re-focus on where I want to go and see where the hell I've been going while my head was down.
