The Ladd Family Staycation
It was Thursday night. We were PACKED and completely impressed with ourselves. Chris had already put the roof rack on his SUV, packed tools, supplies and all things manly. I had prepared and frozen 9 days worth of meals, plus ziplocked loads of homemade granola bars and snacks. The Ladd family was going camping!
We were all set to leave on Saturday morning. And then we got the email. There had been a mistake with the campsite. They’d forgotten to write us on their calendar when we booked in May. When I heard the news, I felt like there had never been a more tired or discouraged woman in the whole world. I stood in the kitchen looking at Chris over a mountain of grocery bags and willed my eyes not to cry. We’d been preparing for weeks, counting down for months.
You know that feeling when you just have to take a break from life or it might break you? I was so ready to get away from the city where we’ve come through so much and take a deep breath of fresh, new air.
The campsite worked it out where we could still camp there for 5 days instead of the 9 we had planned for. My steady, handsome husband assessed the situation, asked me if I needed a cry break (I declined), and then called me away from the kitchen to sit down and talk it through. He leads us so well. He led that conversation with so much compassion, love and vision that by the end of it we felt more united, more expectant and more hopeful than a month’s worth of vacation could have accomplished.
I was so tired. I was pregnant-tired and life-tired. And I wanted a break. Restlessness had been increasing in me in the past weeks, and I felt the breaking point approaching. I would have preferred for it to happen in a hammock under the stars. But we stopped and looked at the big picture. We have a little bit of debt left over, and our biggest goal is to get that paid in the next couple of months. We could save a big chunk of money if we stayed home.
But even more than that, what if running away from restlessness was not my answer? What if my tired didn’t need to be treated in a tent? It was a hard thought to entertain.
My handsome husband and I sat down and wondered what God had for us if we stayed home and learned to rest together – at home. He would still take the week off from work. We would still eat all the meals I prepared. What if God was giving us a second chance to honor the financial commitment we’d made to Him, and then giving us rest in and a deeper love for the city we are called?
I’m going to be honest: I love-hated the idea. Staycations are very romantic seeming, but I was so tired from our life in the city. There’s still some geographical healing that needs to be done in my heart over things I’ve seen, heard and experienced in the very areas God called us to love deep, hard and long. What if He could help us to love this city more? To live in this city more, and not just live for the next getaway?
What if there’s rest right where I already am?
Image from Cape Town ETC
We took Lifa to new parts of the city he’s never seen. He fell in love with downtown and had the best breakfast “of his entire life” at a restaurant called Bacon on Bree. (He ate approximately 1 million calories for breakfast that day.)
We got him a new mountain bike, and Chris took him to experience all things manly in the mountain. “We drank from the mountain streams, Mom. It was so fresh and amazing.”
And we hung out at home a lot. We watched Chris jump in our frigid swimming pool every day until he convinced us all to get in. We hung out in the hammock, and I devoured fiction novels. We had a picnic by the ocean. We watched a baking series on Netflix, and then spent an entire weekend making a beautiful cake to celebrate a friend’s birthday. We went on walks, had lots of talks, and we rested. We really rested.
A week and a half ago, I thought I’d never feel ready to take on daily life again. This morning, I was so joyful to start the week full throttle. My backyard and kitchen are full of new memories to cherish. I’m so thankful for the way my husband leads us in taking every opportunity – even an admin mistake – to reclaim some ground for our family. We were able to honor God with our finances and give Him more of our hearts to mold for this city.
A booking mistake turned into a blessing.
A tired, ready-to-run mama found rest in staying.
At the end of this staycation, we pray that you find rest where you are today, in what you are doing, and in where you are called. It’s ready for you.
