I MUST have the perfect figure before I can go on a beach vacation where I’ll where a swimsuit.

I MUST have everything done at work before I can take a vacation.

I MUST be sure I have planned the perfect trip before I book my travel.

Well, if we wait until everything in our live is perfect before going on a vacation, chance are we will never go on vacation! Life is too short for that to happen!

I happen to fall into the first perfection category – having a perfect figure before going on a beach vacation. Well, truth be told, I probably have never had a perfect figure and am much farther from coming close to it than I was long ago. But, should that stop me from wearing a swimsuit? My friend Soni has been trying to get me to join her for water aerobics classes for years, but I said I had to wait until I would look better in a swimsuit first, despite her telling me that the women in her class came in all shapes and sizes. Well, I am no closer to looking wonderful in that swimsuit and might have been had I taken Soni’s advice. I am beginning to finally realize that it truly does not matter how I look in a swimsuit, and that it is more important for me to live my life to the fullest. So, watch out for this person with an un-perfect figure to be on the beach or at poolside some time very soon!

Those of us who do have perfectionist tendencies want to go on vacation when all important work projects are completed. Well, how likely is that any of us will ever go away for fun with that criterion?! My next vacation has been planned for some time, and I let people at work know well in advance. Sure enough, two very important projects have come up that conflict with my vacation. So, am I cancelling it? Absolutely not! I have found colleagues who will handle anything crucial while I’m on holiday.

As to planning the perfect trip – what does that mean? Much of what makes a vacation memorable is the spontaneous adventures that can’t be planned. I like Amanda’s advice – her goal for vacations is more to slip into the mode of “traveler” than to see trips as vacations. There is no way to perfectly plan that kind of experience. That being said, Oprah does have some advice on picking the perfect destination at http://www.oprah.com/article/world/cultureandtravel/20080516_orig_summertravel_ideas, and then you can go to https://www.ytbtravel.com/Vacations.aspx?wa=HutsonTravelBiz to book your trip.

Please share your vacation stories and photos on the 50+Fabulous Community forum, http://www.50fabulous.com/forum/.

Happy Travels!
Susan