Last Saturday, I had the house to myself. My daughter had gotten my husband a ticket for a pre-season Steelers game for Father's Day, and they built a Dad-and-Daughter weekend around the game. Far from feeling left out, I counted it as a parenting win. She and I had had a Mother-and-Daughter weekend in May when I traveled to Pittsburgh for a writing conference, and the fact that she wanted the same with her dad tells me we did something right. It's extremely gratifying to have a kid who actually wants to spend time with you.
I had all sorts of ideas about what I might do with the house to myself, few of which actually materialized. To an outside observer (and the judgmental side of my brain), I wasted a lot of time. But, as a friend pointed out, it was my last weekend before school started, and a leisurely day didn't sound too out of line.
In cleaning out my inbox (thrilling, right?), I came across a quiz in a Marriott-Bonvoy email. It sounded fun, so I gave it a shot. As you can see from the screen shot above, I came out as a comfortable, spontaneous, contemplative traveler.
Pretty darn accurate. In fact, it pretty much describes the theme of our most recent vacation, a week at the beach last month.
The result of the quiz was both startling in its accuracy and a bit amusing. And, true to the contemplative descriptor, it got me thinking, mostly about the fact that I've reached a point in my life where I don't find it the least bit upsetting that "adventurous" is nowhere in the description.
It's not that I don't like adventures -- it's just that my definition of "adventure" doesn't always mesh well with someone else's. And, when I think about it, I don't think that's necessarily surprising. When it comes to vacations, everyone has a different idea of what it means to "get away from it all." For me, the thing I most want to get away from is an endless to-do list, which means that an overbooked vacation sounds exhausting.
Which brings me back to last weekend. When I think about all the things I want to do when I have time to myself, comfortable, contemplative spontaneity kind of tops the list. What I want most of all is exactly what I got -- the ability to contemplate what I feel like doing (or don't feel like doing) and take action accordingly, in the moment.
In case you're wondering which destination the quiz suggested, it was Portland, Oregon. I've never been to the Pacific Northwest, but do hope to go there one day (although London is next on our list of destinations). And, if last weekend was any indication, no matter the destination (or stay-cation) it'll be relaxing, with a list of potential places to see/things to do, and lots of wiggle room to change my mind in the moment.
Apparently, according to Marriott-Bonvoy, that's how I roll.
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