Hey guys! I’m really excited that Cait (the blogger I spotlighted on Monday) is taking over the blog today. I absolutely love this post and think Cait makes some wonderful points about keeping your marriage a priority! Enjoy!
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Hey y’all! I’m Cait from My Life As A Long! Huge thanks to Charlene for letting me take over today.

Marriage is hard work. I say that all the time now, not to “knock” marriage, but because it is the truth. Think about it for just a second. You and your significant other get married and try to mesh two different lifestyles/habits. You are living in close proximity to another person all the time. There is a learning period where you learn to live together and adjust your habits so that you are able to, well live together comfortably. But what about those days when living together gets a little tough. You notice he has moon walked out of his socks again even though you have asked him a thousand times not to. He notices that the bathroom counter is full of make up, hair products, and all kinds of stuff so he can’t even find his tooth brush. Those are the days when marriage requires a little extra work.

At times, life can even be a little overwhelming. For us, we both have 40+ hour a week jobs, we both are in school, then there is the usual home that needs cleaned, laundry that needs done, bills that need paid, a puppy who needs played with/walked/fed/let out/played with some more, I have a blog, we just started a small business, and don’t forget to add church, family, and friends. That is a lot going on. Now for the biggie, add in that we are married and that is a priority. We have to make sure that we are talking to each other, learning together, growing together, praying together, making time for each other, and continuing to love each other. In today’s society, too often marriage is what is dropped further and further down on the priority list when in reality it should be 2nd on the list, right after a relationship with God. So what do we do when life gets in the way and we see that our marriage is slipping a few spots on the priority list? We vacation.

If you ask me, vacations are so important for a marriage. Let me be a little more specific. Vacations with just you and your spouse are so important for marriage. Family vacations have their place, but I strongly believe that husband/wife vacations are something that should be a priority. I know what you are going to say. “Cait, we don’t have the time to vacation for just us.” or “Cait, we can’t fit a vacation in the budget.” I get that. I have said both of these things countless times. Here is what I have learned.

• Vacations don’t have to be a week long, or even a weekend long. Vacations can simply be a single night. 
• Vacations don’t have to be extravagant. A weekend in a cabin in the mountains, a weekend camping at a local park, spending a night in a hotel downtown (if you live in a larger city) can all count as a vacation. 
• Vacations don’t have to be expensive. If you can afford it, I suggest a cruise! Even those can be inexpensive. Several cruise lines sell last minute cruises pretty cheap, or if you aren’t able to plan something last minute, Keep a watch on the websites. Cruise lines offer specials all the time. If that is too expensive, a night in a nice hotel or a weekend in a cabin can be much more cost efficient. If that is still too much, get creative. Go camping at a local park, or even your back yard! 

When you vacation together, make your marriage your priority. Spend the night/weekend/week talking to each other and connecting again. Talk about your future, your hopes and dreams, Take that time to focus on your spouse. In a world that goes 90 miles an hour, take the time to slow things down. Be there with your spouse. Turn off cell phones. Forget social media. Forget the cares of the world. I promise they will be there when you get back. Just spend that time with your spouse.

C and I plan one “big” vacation a year. We make sure to budget an amount each week for our vacation. The past 2 years we have gone on our vacation for our anniversary, and we have gone on a cruise. This year, we are planning a weekend get away to Atlanta. For us, a vacation is a priority, so we budget for it. I think every budget should have a small section for marriage vacations. Be sure to check out Living Social and Groupon for good vacation deals!

* Duh! A week or weekend cruise!
* Head to the mountains
* Road trip along the coast
* Visit wine country
* A night at a fancy hotel
* Be a tourist in your own city (hint, stay in a hotel!)
* Camping at a local park (we prefer National or State parks, so get proper permits if needed)
* Go to the beach
* Visit landmarks
* Go skiing in Colorado
* Be spontaneous! Go to the airport with no destination in mind, buy tickets when you get there!
* Take your spouse to places where you vacationed as a child
* Go somewhere neither of you have been before
* Send the kids to Grandma’s and camp in the back yard/living room, (Be sure to forget about the outside world)
* Pamper yourselves and spend the weekend or just a day at the spa! (be sure to stay in a hotel at least 1 night though!)

Be present on your vacation no matter how short or long it is. Stay off social media and only use your phones for emergencies.

Do you take married vacations? Share them on social media using #amarriedvacation
Do you have any other married vacation ideas? 

Thanks again to Charlene for letting me take over! Be sure to stop by and say hey!