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vacation hleo rebebecca weller author

Go On A Vacation

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I just got back from Florida a little over a week ago. It was a family vacation months in the making. A surprise trip to the sunny shores of America’s southernmost continental state with some Disney magic thrown in. We woke the kids up at three a.m. with the good news, we were heading south and we were going with my husbands’ sister and her family. They were ecstatic at the thought of a holiday with their cousins.

We all piled into the eight-passenger vehicle and made the 2200km trek across one province and eight states until we reached our beautiful resort townhouse where we spent the next week. It was a long journey, but a fun journey. Really a moment where the journey felt as integral to the vacation as the destination.

The Magic

It’s been over three years since we’ve taken a family vacation of this nature. We’ve managed to get away for a weekend sporadically, or gone to the cottage a little, but it’s been quite awhile since we’ve crossed borders, and dedicated a significant amount of time to being away from everyday life. And I have to say… it’s glorious.

There is something so magical about just taking a break from the push and pull of routine. Time moves with this peaceful flow. You get to decide exactly how you spend your day and how much or little you want to achieve. The anxieties of life fade, and you can simply focus on being in the moment and enjoying every drop of it.

This trip also ended up being a great time of connection for our family. Where tons of laughs were shared, new experiences were had, and many memories were made. Truly special things happen when you’re just waiting in the Slinky Dog roller coaster line and you get the opportunity to just be with and listen to your kids.

A Creative Spark

I also find that going on a vacation is a great way to boost creativity. To be in a new place, trying new things, seeing different people (potential characters), it ignites those creative juices that just make we want to sit down and write. I came back from this trip energized and excited to start writing again.

Life moves very fast, and although it can be a challenge to coordinate time off and the financial means necessary, I would urge you to make vacationing a priority. Things happen on vacation that just can’t occur in everyday life. Special moments that we will hold dear for the rest of our lives.

So here’s to the blessing of a vacation.

Cheers and Happy Reading,

Becky

 

fairytale endings hleo weller rebecca indie writer

Give Me A Fairytale Ending

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I don’t think anyone would argue too greatly with me when I say, “life is hard.” Between the pressures of succeeding at love, career, family, social ability and personal fulfillment, adulting can keep you feeling as though you’re constantly running a race you don’t completely know the track layout for. That’s why reading is such an incredible diversion. An opportunity to take all of those pressures and shove them aside for a little while. It’s escapism in its simplest form.

And while I do believe that all genres and types of stories have their place, give me a fairytale ending any day. I want the quest to be successful, I want the hero to win, for the lovers to find happiness in each other. Nothing is more satisfying to me than when I reach that last page of a book and the conclusion wraps everything up in a succinct and pleasant manner. If I’m going to have to leave these characters behind and put them back on the shelf I want to feel as though their lives are going to be okay. That I’m walking away at the right moment.

The world can be such a bleak place, any cursory glance at a newsfeed will verify that. So I find I always gravitate to books that are going to fill me all the right kind of feels. Pragmatic reality and hard truths have very little space in my entertainment regime.

Happy Reading and Happy Writing

This flows into my writing as well. My characters struggle, it’s not all puppies, kittens and rainbows for them. Personal growth and conflict create interesting storyline. The journey can be a difficult one, my goal is simply that the end of the journey will be a happy one. One where when I read ‘and they all lived happily ever after, I believe it to be true.

If you want to find out more about Hleo and it’s ending check it out here.

Happy Reading,

Becky