If you are feeling the dog days of summer and want to mix things up, I’ve got an idea for you.  My husband and I had the past 10 days to ourselves while our children were traveling with friends.  Mind you, this was the first time we have had this amount of time on our own in over 16 years.  We’ve been busy raising babies and building businesses. While we didn’t get away on a vacation this week, we set out to create “vacation” right here at home – and you can do this, too!

We started by asking “What is it we want to experience and feel?”

Our answers….  Vacation at home, Adventure, Love, Connection, Play, Fun, Freedom, Get out of the box, Spontaneity.

Then we asked “What can we DO to create these feelings this week?”

Here’s what we did.

• Rearranged our living area and patio to create a feeling of “vacation”.
• We turned our dining room into a dance floor.
• And our living room into a dining room.
• We learned a basic two-step by watching YouTube (yes, it’s possible) and practiced all week.
• We interrupted our routine by doing things slightly different from how we began the day to when and how we ended the day.
• And, we’ve decided to leave our “vacation” vibe in the house for fun and do things differently all summer long!

Rearranging the house and dancing in the dining room were all physical changes we made that created space for us to connect, dream, and talk about life in new and different ways.  Doing things differently can feel awkward and it definitely took us out of our comfort zone – but doing so is the very thing that allowed us to clear the air and push through barriers to greater intimacy and connection.

Here’s what surprised us.

• Changing things up got us out of a rut and the auto-pilot way of doing marriage and life.
• We both feel better, lighter, inspired and more connected than before.

I can’t put into words the impact these seemingly silly and insignificant changes have had. We’ve been married for 16 years and this week together stirred and opened doors in our communication and intimacy that have never been opened.  How cool is that?  And, we almost never left home. Ha!

Wanna try your own version?  Here’s how.

Ask yourself (and/or your partner) these questions:

• What is it you want to feel and experience that you don’t feel now?
• What can you DO to create this experience?

Then:

• Make it your mission to do these very things sooner than later.
• Be willing to push through your own barriers.
• Be open to surprise and delight.

You’ll be amazed at how refreshing and rejuvenating a vacation at home can be for your life!

Happy Summer,

Carla