Traveling and balancing workload with self-care

One of the things that’s become a struggle for me lately, especially as I get older, is learning how to balance things out. This past week, I’ve been in one of my favorite places, but it hasn’t been without its challenges. Travel is the inspiration for this week’s blog, and it’s likely something I’ll touch on in more detail later.

On the 11th of February, I was blessed to celebrate God’s gift of 33 years of life. To celebrate, I traveled with my parents to spend a few days in one of our favorite places: Charleston, South Carolina. As much as I love it, I think I still have a bit of a “travel hangover” from the trip.

Due to a number of factors with my disability and its effect on my body, travel can often be a bit of a double-edged sword. It’s great to get away, but my concentration suffers. I’ve barely gotten 5 hours in the entire week to work on my novel and blogs because right as I settle in to focus, something happened, or my pain flared up.

My family and I are blessed to be able to find great accommodations via Marriott hotels. We love staying at Towneplace Inn and Suites when we can. Accessible bathrooms, sofa beds that barely feel like a sofa bed in a suite and a roll in shower all make things easier. It’s not without a few drawbacks, though (grab bars can be difficult to grasp and the shower’s seats are uncomfortable for me as a larger person.)

As much as I adore Charleston, it also brings with it the agony of traveling in a historical city with rough curb cuts, cobbled brick walkways and uneven pavement, and sometimes unreliable crosswalks. Still, I think it’s a wonderful place to visit, and I highly recommend you take the chance to go if you have the opportunity. It’s a place of rich legacy, from the American Revolution to the Civil War. I have toyed with the idea of writing a novel based in the colony of Charles Towne which later became Charleston. Maybe someday I’ll find a way back to it.

All in all, my trip was amazing, and I had the chance to enjoy fantastic food, good shopping and good company. Now if I can just shake off the post trip hangover and get back to work.

How do you get back to the grind after a vacation? Let me know in the comments?