Dream Vacation 😎

Couples who have been together a while often wonder how it is they moved from dreaming big to just being practical. While being practical impacts us all as we grow together and know each other well, it doesn’t mean the dreaming has to stop or that dreams can’t be brought down to earth. We recently were talking about vacation dreams and how to bring them to reality.

His Dream

Nick: I’ve been fortunate enough to see some cobblestone streets and 500+ year old buildings and little towns in Germany and England while traveling on business over the past 10 years. Having grown up in the US, this always fascinates me. If I had no limits, a grand European tour would be my dream vacation. I’d love to see Rome, Paris, London, and all the other cities with beautiful sights together with Jen.

Her Dream

Jen: We were able to take a trip for our 20^th wedding anniversary 8 years ago that gave me a taste of traveling outside the United States for the first time. My big dream would be to visit someplace like Iceland and see the Northern Lights. Like Nick, I would also love to see more of Europe and experience places with architectural history that spans many ages. Mostly, I want to experience as much as I can with Nick and see the wonder and joy on his face that is inspired by new places and foods. (Don’t let him kid you, food is his favorite part of traveling to new places.)

Our Dream Landing

Nick: It’s hard to imagine having the time or resources to go to Europe or Iceland.  The impracticality of the dream can become the sole focus if we let it. But what if we consider the dream from another angle? The few times I was away on business and seeing some of those things I did, I kept thinking Jen would love this. I wanted to see her in those moments even more than I was enjoying seeing the sights on my own. Likewise, Jen enjoys seeing places we’ve never been together and knows that my passion for food makes tasting new foods just as delightful as seeing new places.

Jen: Knowing that part of Nick’s dream involves seeing amazing things together, we can make that real even without spending money we don’t have. We can find local places near us to explore and still have a sense of wonder and awe in the beauty. One example of this happened a couple of weeks ago when we had family visiting. There is an area not far from our house where there are huge flower fields. We had never visited the fields before and took our visitors there on a whim. It was a delightful afternoon experience of local beauty that we had never sought out before. Another way we can make our dream come true closer to home is to feed Nick’s passion for experiencing new foods by finding restaurants that offer authentic cuisine from places we would like to visit. In this way we can experience the foods of those places, but not break the bank with travel.

We invite all our readers to think back to very early in your relationships. Our guess is you didn’t worry if your dreams were practical. You simply delighted in sharing them with each other. Why not give it a try anew – listen to your spouse’s dreams and don’t worry about the practicality. Then see if there is a down-to-earth way to bring the spirit of your dream to reality.