Summer is just around the corner. Some of you may be planning a vacation with another couple. Be careful! A couple’s vacation can prove troublesome. Both couples say, \u201cWe\u2019re great friends! We get along so well. It would be so nice to go on vacation together.\u201d That\u2019s the premise, so off you go.<\/p>\n
Day one is a travel day. Oh sure, there\u2019s a little tension on the trip, causing a spat or two, but those are between partners. Her saying, \u201cCome on honey; we need to get through security before it backs up.\u201d Him saying, \u201cThere\u2019s plenty of time.\u201d Her replying, \u201cDo me one favor; let\u2019s just get through security; then you can do whatever you want.\u201d The other couple is watching the exchange, so he backs down. In they go. Just a little spat. No big deal. Not yet!<\/p>\n
You make it to your destination, go to dinner; no problems so far; everyone is too tired to disagree. But, a glimmer of what\u2019s to come, surfaces. \u201cWhat do you want to do for breakfast?\u201d Such an innocent question. Except, couple # 1 wants to grab a cup of coffee and a muffin and get to the beach early to get a good spot. Couple #2 wants to sleep in and have a lavish breakfast in the dinning room and mosey out to the beach in time for lunch. The \u201cI\u2019m on vacation\u201d attitude starts to surface. Some minor grumbling off to the side, between partners, not between couples. \u201cI didn\u2019t spend all this money to do stuff I don\u2019t want to do.\u201d (Often accompanied with childlike pouting and foot stomping.)<\/p>\n
The whole thing could be resolved right then, before the real disaster of a couple\u2019s vacation unfolds. All it would take is for one of the wives to say, \u201cLets do this – you do what you want to do during the day, we\u2019ll do what we want and then we\u2019ll meet up for dinner.\u201d That way they would have had the best of all worlds; the comfort of traveling with friends and the ability to enjoy time in their own way. But, this never happens. Everything has to be done as a foursome. An endless series of spats behind closed doors, arguing about how best to deal with the other couple\u2019s shortcomings. \u201cShe\u2019s so bossy!\u201d –\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s so stubborn and selfish.\u201d – \u201cWho does he think he is?\u201d \u2013 \u201cDid you catch how rude she was to the server? I bet the staff got even when her entr\u00e9e went back to the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally, the last day on the beach. Four people, all mad. The only thing holding the marriages together is a mutual distaste for the other couple. They lounge in beach chairs, each angled in a different direction; no one would know they were together. It\u2019s a symbolic temper tantrum that silently says, \u201cI\u2019ll face whatever way I want. \u201d A single thought floods everyone\u2019s head, \u201cNEVER AGAIN!\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the wives looks up from her travel magazine and says, \u201cThere\u2019s a great cruise to Alaska in May, half price! What do you think?\u201d Stony silence is the response. I know; I\u2019ve been next to these couples, eavesdropping, on the beach, on cruise ships, in campgrounds. Even hiking up the trails in the White Mountains. If you go this couple\u2019s route, be careful, you may destroy a great friendship.<\/p>\n
Complaints? Comments? Send to \u2013 mlessler7@gmail.com.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summer is just around the corner. Some of you may be planning a vacation with another couple. Be careful! A couple’s vacation can prove troublesome….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\n