What is a holiday? Does it have different meanings and bring up different images for different people? I think the answer is a resounding “yes” and “no”. We all have shared ideas and images about holidays. There are the traditional shared holidays and there are also shared ideas about the ultimate holiday. Maybe it is skiing on a powder white slope; lazing on a golden sunny beach under a palm tree; hiking in bushland; an eco holiday; rail journey or cruise – whatever the word “holiday” conjures up for you, there will be many dreams, memories, emotions and plans centering around the idea of a “break”.

In order for this to work we need to be taking a “holiday” from something. For most of us this involves ‘getting away from it all”; spending time with family and friends; “hitting the road” and exploring the many twists and turns of a new place. We are so focussed on work and the everyday grind that holidays have become a formal part of our lives and one which many of us spend our time working for. A classic Aussie dream is to retire and become a “grey nomad” – hitching up the rig to finally get out an “live life for real”. This saddens me as the “for real” is the everyday – it is what happens from the minute you wake up, to the minute you go to bed and even the sleeping part. This is our lives and holidays form an important part of our lives.

So why are holidays so prized, dreamt about and planned? Think about someone on a game show, what is one of the main things they want to win? Either a holiday or money to go on one. This holiday thing is the big time when it comes to something we are all working to achieve.

My thoughts are that holidays are full of “down time”; are often spent with those we love the most; are often taken without the usual hustle and bustle of every day life; often take us away from our technological dependence (although nowadays this is not so true); allow us to go with what we feel we want to do with our time, rather than what we think we have to do; are full of happy and exciting memories; are often taken in exotic or distant places.

However there are also those holidays which are taken close to home, perhaps at the family shack or caravan park; are taken over a few short days and don’t cost the earth. In fact those types of holidays are often some of the best.

To me the important thing is the time spent savouring life. The time spent slowing down, stopping to “smell the roses”, enjoy family and friends and the world around us. Even if we have the old family arguments, stress and the predictable travel problems such as travel sickness, mess ups with arrangements, missed or delayed flights, language barriers and an array of other problems especially when overseas, the ultimate memory of a holiday is usually positive.

To me, part of the pleasure of a holiday is the planning. Working out when and where you will travel to; where you will stay and what you want to do with the time, even if this is “nothing at all”!The rest of the joy is in the doing, and then the remembering……

I have so many memories of holidays – as a toddler camping in a 2 man tent with my parents in the bush; as a child traipsing around Europe with my hippy backpacking and (crazy) parents dragging a 2 year old and 7 year old all over the world; as a teenager (grumpy but secretly thoroughly enjoying) holidays to places like New Zealand and Fiji, as well as travelling around Australia; as an adult being so lucky to go to Italy and South Africa for work with my Mum in tow (these memories are absolute gold despite fraught airport moments and robberies!); and taking my own family on so many holidays – to the beach shack a few hours away, the caravan park in my home city, interstate to forests and beaches and theme parks and road trips, and most recently to beautiful Brisbane where mum, Maxwell and I stayed in a wonderful old Queenslander and woke every morning to bird song and the warmth of the sun overlooking green in the middle of a city!

To me holidays form a major part of the threads of our lives.

I think that in life with diabetes we also need a “holiday” from it. If managing diabetes is like a job, then surely holidays and short breaks are just as vital to our continued diabetes management as holidays are to our lives?

How do we do this? We need to think about how we are travelling with our diabetes – are we ok with it, are there areas we could manage better, are there areas we are focussing on too much? Do we have problems that we need to sort out? Does the balance of where diabetes sits in our lives feel about right, or not? And how long since we have had a break?

Just like when planning your regular holidays or short breaks, even if all you do is take the occasional long weekend off work – you need to think about some regular breaks from diabetes. This does not mean stop looking after your diabetes. It just means allowing yourself premission to perhaps have a treat; not check blood glucose as often for a day or so; focus on other areas of your life for a bit; do some relaxation and self talk which helps you to put diabetes into a balanced state in your life – that there are many other parts of your life that are important.

Sometimes our health can become the focus of our lives. This can in turn make us “sick”. It is important to acknowledge that you are here, living every day – and that this is a gift. Taking a real holiday can be one way of helping you to take a break from diabetes and the stress it can bring.

Happy plannning!