Holiday Styles

I've had a request to write about surviving married life. I'm not sure I qualify as I've only been married five months tomorrow. But Saturday, The Hub and I set off on our 'summer holiday' as they say here (as if everyone is entitled to one), and it reminded me that one of the secrets to a happy relationship is figuring out how to mesh your two holiday styles. I suppose it's also a possibility to avoid going on holiday together, but it doesn't sound that romantic (even if it is only a couple of weeks a year).

So if you prefer the latter, best to hone in on your holiday style and that of your other half. In our case, the Hub likes to go places to see things, preferably in a car, and he likes to cover as much ground as possible. I like to stay mainly in one place. Also, I am the only one of the two of us who has a driver's license. So you can imagine the trouble.

After a few knock-down blow-out fights, one of which consisted of me literally pulling over to the side of the road and refusing to drive any further (after three days of non-stop driving), I think we've got it figured out. A holiday where we can stay in one place and take little day trips in the area with the car (preferably every other day, to allow some time sitting by the pool reading or something similar) works pretty well.

This is exactly what we are doing this week. We've both got our books picked out and a list of things to see including churches that contain weird relics, a set of caves and a little island, all in the Istria region of Croatia.

Everyone always thinks that holidays are stress-free and just a barrel of laughs, but the truth is that if you don't plan a vacation that is enjoyable to both of you, it can actually create tension and strife, which can be a really unpleasant surprise. Like the ear ache The Hub developed in Corfu back in 2007, which he still blames on me for taking him to a water park called Aqua Land (he loved it – the water park, not the ear infection).

Enjoy the dog days of summer and see you on the other side!

****

If you're interested, to finish up the story, there seems to be no disc problem with my spine. In fact, the spinal surgeon said my spine looked very good for a 35-year-old! However, he is being careful to check that there's nothing else wrong, so sentenced me to some blood tests and yet another MRI. I had it done yesterday and this time they kept my head out of the machine (thank God) and let me listen to music. All-in-all it was a much better experience than last time.

He was pretty sure nothing would turn up in the tests, however, so I suppose the pain is actually muscular (confirming what my physio thought -- getting the scans done was always erring on the side of caution), meaning that it's back to physio exercises – particularly those pesky hip stretches – to finally sort out this one lingering bit of pain. It's a relief though.

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1 comment

  1. True about balancing each other's likes / dislikes! Tim has sailed every day while I've taken in the scenes in Cowes . . . and we always meet back in the late afternoon to catch up!

    Have a lovely holiday with The Hub and I'll see you at the end of the month!

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