Last Updated on October 10, 2025 by The Smetz Files
Book the trip!
It’s not exactly earth-shattering advice.
However, as busy moms managing all the things, it can be just one more thing on the never ending to do list.
It’s easy to push things like travel down the priorities, but it’s essential.
Here’s why!
Earlier this year Jay and I were talking about our upcoming twentieth wedding anniversary. I know, it seems insane how quickly time has flown.
We are college sweethearts and at this point have spent more than half our lives together. We have certainly become ‘grown ups’ together over the last two decades (I’m still in denial that I’m old enough to adult most days!).
Busy schedules, work and family commitments, and life in general has sidelined travel for just the two of us in recent years.
Make the Effort
After some discussion, we decided to try something new and book a week at an all-inclusive, adults only resort to celebrate our anniversary.
We consulted a travel agent, researched her suggestions, and booked the trip!
It was a huge step. There were lots of logistics and planning to take care of in preparation for travel.
It’s kind of like a teacher planning for a substitute. There were school and activities logistics we had to plan for in our absence. We would miss tournaments with our kids’ teams.
We have the benefit of grandparents who willingly stepped in to make sure our kids were taken care of while we jetted off to enjoy some R&R in the Caribbean!
After sending our final farewells (and reminders…we have teens/tweens!), we hopped on a plane and flew to the Dominican Republic, in search of some peaceful time to reconnect.
Vacation Mode
Let me just say, it did not disappoint!
It was a bit of an adjustment to have someone attending to your every need. The highlight of my week may or may not have been the early morning text asking where and what time we’d like our dinner reservation!
A week of not answering the question, ‘what’s for dinner?’, only to be met with groans was incredible! If you’re raising kids, I know you know!
But seriously, having time to disconnect from the daily tasks that demand our attention was nice.
It felt indulgent to be searching for a desirable chair by the pool mid-morning on a Tuesday.
Volleyball in the pool? Sure, hold my sunnies!
Carefree? You bet!
Reminder
It was such a great reminder to recenter, recalibrate, and reconnect.
Because one day the kids will be off doing their own thing. Our daily schedules won’t revolve around what time they need to be where.
The trip was an opportunity to celebrate being just us. He’s my person and I was reminded how much I enjoy traveling with my best friend.
And just being with him.
So, book the trip. It’s not revolutionary advice. But it is sage advice.
Make the effort. It’s so worth it!
Tips for Travel
- We booked everything through an experienced travel agent. This made every single part of our experience seamless and low stress for us. Flights, airport transport to and from the resort, and accommodations were handled for us. It was a dream! All we had to do was read and follow the directions in her travel guides. She included local tips, what to expect, and tipping guidelines so we didn’t have to think about a thing. We’ve already started planning our next trip with her!
- We traveled Saturday to Saturday. This is ideal for us because it gave us a day of getting settled at home before we had to get the work week started. It was a nice, easy transition and gave us time to unpack, do laundry, and enjoy a day with the kids before they hopped back into school and sports that week.
- We selected an adults only all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic. The goal of our trip was true relaxation, so the resort was perfect. The staff there were attentive and kind. We found if we spoke our limited Spanish they were responsive and even taught us some local lingo to add to our repertoire. My advice, brush up on the language and try to engage with the locals.
Here are a few things I took that simplified travel for us:
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