Welcome To My Nightmare: Why Moms Need A Vacation

Please put down the cell phone and sit down so we can discuss the vacation you need. Before you start your to-do list so you can't go on a cheap best vacation, listen to yourself. Your assistant manager can put in your grocery order. The inventory is automated and the gasoline tanker driver knows what you need. You have three department assistant managers who handle their jobs well. Your husband can look after the kids for at least three days. They're fourteen and sixteen? Woman, they can look after themselves. You need a break.

Yes, your husband has a promotion coming up. He can deal with it; trust me. The kids can do their homework and they're good kids; they're not going to any wild parties for three days. The dogs will be fed and walked, the housework may be a little shoddy, but it will get done, and they all know how to cook. Your husband and the kids can tell each other about their days without dumping it on you after a hard day at work. If someone calls out, let them. You have assistant managers to manage it and they know whom to call in who would like to work.

Do you know what happens to people as overstressed as you?

Short list: nervous breakdown, stroke and heart attack.

A 2001 study in Wisconsin found that among 1,500 women, those who vacationed regularly suffered less stress and their marriages were healthy. So unplug the computers, turn off the cell phones and iPads, turn off the TV. All that reaching out to touch someone can stress you just as your job can. Do you find yourself staring for no reason and wonder how long you had zoned out? Are you noticing your lack of appetite? Are you sleeping or tossing? All these mean overload and before it gets to the hospital junction, you need a break.

You've seen those cheap best vacation hotels, where for three days you won't have to answer a phone, clean, cook or drive anywhere. You can swim, use the exercise room, spa and beauty salon when you fly direct to the Atlantis Island resort hotel in the Bahamas. WebMD says to check into a mind/body spa for three days and you'll come out with healthier habits. Drive a state over and see the attractions. Being a tourist for three days will bleed off the stress and you'll see and learn wonderful things about a neighboring state. Check into a country inn or bed and breakfast for three days to indulge in an activities vacation.

Moms need a cheap best vacation more than most because you get dumped on by everyone. You work so hard at home and your job and it's going to cause health problems. Bowing out for a few days recharges the batteries, gives you a new perspective and enables you to come back and carry on with a healthier body and attitude. Yes, I have the number of a cab.