{"id":134037,"date":"2025-10-22T16:02:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T21:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/?p=134037"},"modified":"2025-10-23T05:52:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T10:52:47","slug":"lets-talk-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/22\/lets-talk-14\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s talk…"},"content":{"rendered":"

I always include some pretty pictures to break up all the text, just in case you are wondering how they are related to what I am writing about…..they are not:)<\/em><\/p>\n

Good evening. I really enjoy these posts and it seems many of you do too. These have been an unexpected wonderful way for me to get back to a little creative writing which I happen to love, and frankly forgot how much I enjoy it, so I am glad it’s been well received. Today I want to talk about trips \u2014 girls trips, couple trips, family trips\u2026 all of it.<\/p>\n

I was recently invited on a girls trip with four, possibly five friends. Two of them are good friends, the others are acquaintances. My initial reaction was \u201cCount me in!\u201d because honestly, just hearing the word vacation gets me excited. I also want to clarify \u2014 a girls trip is subjective depending on what kind of trip it is. If it\u2019s a simple one-stop destination, like going to a spa or wellness retreat for a few days, that can actually be really fun because there aren\u2019t too many decisions to make.<\/p>\n

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But,\u00a0 if it\u2019s a trip to a big city or another country where the goal is to pack in as much as possible \u2014 sightseeing, shopping, trying every restaurant \u2014 that\u2019s when all the different personalities and opinions come into play\u2026 and that\u2019s the part I\u2019m not a big fan of and frankly have learned to say no to.<\/p>\n

Now, before you look at me and think \u201cWow, she\u2019s a total Scrooge,\u201d I promise I\u2019m not! In fact, up until about ten years ago, I was a bit of a G rated party animal \u2014 I loved any excuse to go out. The more people, the better. The bigger the group, the more fun I thought it would be. But I think as we get older, we change. We start valuing quality over quantity (my dear mom always used to say this and as always, she was right). So no, I\u2019m not a Scrooge \u2014 I\u2019m just someone who\u2019s learned about what I enjoy, what feels comfortable, and I\u2019ve gotten a lot better at recognizing that and standing by it (politely, of course).<\/p>\n

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To me, big group trips are just\u2026 too much. <\/em>Too many opinions, too many different paces, too many directions. I\u2019m admittedly,\u00a0 strongly opinionated and I tend to move fast. I\u2019m not the type to meander through a store slowly, turning things over and examining every little trinket. I wish I were calmer and more methodical, but I can walk into a store and in about three minutes (often less) , I\u2019ve sized things up. Shopping for me is a solo activity \u2014 I honestly don\u2019t enjoy shopping with anyone.<\/p>\n

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That said, I do remember a big group trip years ago that was absolutely wonderful. We were four families \u2014 all with our kids, who were teenagers at the time \u2014 and we went to the Dominican Republic. Honestly, it was one of the best trips we\u2019ve ever taken. It worked because everyone had their own space: we each rented separate houses, which gave us room to breathe, but we came together for all the fun \u2014 the sporting activities, meals, and evenings. I think it was just being in that particular place, at that particular time, with that age group. The kids all got along so well, and it was such a special window of time.<\/p>\n

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And I can already picture that a good portion of this new trip that I have been invited on,\u00a0 would involve shopping. Even sightseeing \u2014 museums, monuments \u2014 I like to go at my own pace. In a group of four or five people, you\u2019re automatically forced to slow down. Then comes the restaurant part: 4-5 people, 4-5 opinions. Where to go, what to eat\u2026 you know how that goes. No thanks.<\/p>\n

I think even with couples this can apply, depending on the dynamic. But vacations are a whole different ballgame than day-to-day interactions. At home, you see friends or family for a few hours. On vacation, you\u2019re together 24\/7 \u2014 and except for my immediate family, I\u2019m not sure I want to be with anyone 24\/7! (Does that sound awful? Maybe. But I\u2019m just being honest.)<\/p>\n

I still remember a family trip to Hawaii about 10 or 11 years ago. Nearly two weeks, eleven people, many with very strong personalities. By the end, I was literally hiding behind the bushes just to have a moment alone. Needless to say, I was the first one on that plane home!<\/p>\n

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Even group dinners \u2014 once something I loved \u2014 now feel overwhelming. They\u2019re usually in noisy restaurants where you can barely hear the person across from you. I find them exhausting rather than enjoyable. These days, I prefer smaller, more intimate dinners \u2014 four to six people max. Big groups in loud restaurants really diminish my social bandwidth.<\/p>\n

The one exception? A dinner party at home. That\u2019s different \u2014 you can actually talk, enjoy conversation, and connect with everyone at the table. I still love that kind of gathering.<\/p>\n

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So now I\u2019m curious \u2014 how many of you feel the same way? Do you thrive in big group trips and dinners, or do you prefer something smaller and calmer? And just in case you\u2019re wondering what I decided about the girls trip?I opted out. And I was honest, about large group trips not being my thing and it occurring at a busy time for us.<\/p>\n

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Though I\u2019m sure it will be fun, the more I thought about it and weighed the pros and cons, the cons somewhat outweighed the pros \u2014 which actually made the decision pretty easy. The truth is, it\u2019s coming at a somewhat hectic time when we have other things going on, so it became a convenient excuse\u2026 but not a lie.<\/p>\n

OK, your turn to talk….<\/p>\n

_________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

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I always include some pretty pictures to break up all the text, just in case you are wondering how they are related to what I am writing about…..they are not:) Good evening. I really enjoy these posts and it seems many of you do too. These have been an unexpected wonderful way for me to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":134044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[4673],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134037"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134037"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134087,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134037\/revisions\/134087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}