By Diana's blog | March 21, 2011 at 10:45 PM EDT | No Comments
I have been remiss in my blogging - sorry. Sometimes I just get so bogged down in the everyday nonsense of life that it consumes me. What jolted me back was my recent vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Yes, that's right, I went on a vacation. It was my first time leaving the country in the past 11 years. It was my first vacation without kids, since I only had two of them. It was the longest I had been away from my husband since 1989.
It was like a reality show - Here in Mexico to celebrate my sister's 50th birthday were 12 women sharing a house.
Do you know the first thing people asked me when I got back? Aside from the comments about the crime rate in Mexico, every person asked me "did it get catty with so many women?"
What kind of question is that? We were not seventh grade girls, we were middle aged women on a mission to have fun. It was all about eating, drinking, shopping, drinking, sun bathing, laughing and drinking. Fun in the sun - the ultimate vacation.
There was minimal cattiness. Probably because being on vacation in an idyllic setting doesn't leave much room for anger or pettiness.
Especially when all your doing is eating and drinking. It was very interesting to see people from different economic, religious and domestic situations. We connected to each other on a unique level. Unique because we were on vacation with no stress. I'm sure we wouldn't have had such a great time if we were all in a stressful work situation or Gd forbid, near our children.
Lessons Learned:
- Superficial things are good- There is nothing like bonding over the same junky TV programs, fried food and People Magazine articles. It gives an easy entrance to a deeper connection.
- As much as I hate the title of the book - Don't sweat the small stuff. Letting go of score keeping and detail mongering leaves you open to sit your tushy on the beach and marvel at the waves and mock the other people on the beach. No use worring over who will call the next taxi or whether to fret about who owes whom money. It will all work itself out.
- Self images are warped- Everyone, even the most gorgeous ladies, fret about their bodies. And I never realized how bad I looked standing next to my buff friends. I am definately going to get photoshop.
- A kind word is the the smart thing to say - Everyone likes to hear something nice about themselves. It makes people more open. Obviously don't make stuff up so that no one trusts you, but there are some standards "you have such a great smile" (translation- and a huge ass). "You have such nice shoes" (but are a nasty bitch) "You are such a people person" (you filthy slut)
- It's not about yourself all the time - recognizing someone else's situation can help you improve yours. It takes a huge burden off me to realize that if someone is in a bad mood or upset, it has nothing to do with me. I don't have to fix it and I'm not responsible for it.
- Finally - It's great to get away from it all. I miss my new and old friends and I was very lucky to have had that time with them.