Is Living The Suite Life As Sweet As It Sounds?
Living in a hotel is not all room-service and cute mini toiletries you know!
You can’t control the waves, but you can learn to surf.” 🏄♀️ (And if you fall off, at least you can laugh at yourself on the way down!)
Right now, I’m living in a hotel and my messy midlife is being sandwiched between helping my elderly parents, watching my youngest fly the nest, and trying to survive a home renovation. Oh, and keeping Cosmo’s muddy paws off the hotel’s white rugs (extra cleaning charges incoming.)
Living in a hotel for a while sounds quite cushy I agree - and it is when you’re on holiday. But when you have to work and live your normal day to day, it feels a little bit like being stuck in no-man’s land. Anyone remember that kids TV show, The Suite Life of Zac and Cody? Mix it with Golden Girls and that’s where I’m at.
It often feels as if midlife is the stage of life that keeps on giving – chaos! Where you’re constantly on the brink of either laughing or losing it, and to be honest, sometimes it’s both in the same day (or hour!)
But here’s the thing: every time I’m about to scream (usually while staring at a pile of renovation rubble wondering if we will ever move back home, or trying to explain Wi-Fi to mum and dad), I remind myself… I can take a deep breath, and choose to smile instead. And this may sound a bit twee, but since becoming more aware that it isn’t often the circumstance that brings on a downer or makes you flip out, but its our reaction to it. For me, taking 5 before flying off the handle has really helped. Do you find this?
Obviously, being an empty nester, a sandwich carer, AND a menopause warrior means life is going to get messy. But if I’ve learned anything, it’s that we can still find moments of joy, humour, and strength even in the middle of the sh*t show. Here’s how I lift the mood a little:
My daily dog walks
The hotel gym - there’s no excuse not to go when it’s on the floor below my room.
Curling up in bed (there’s no other place to sit in my hotel room) with a cuppa to watch MAFS UK.
Scrolling Pinterest to get some ideas for our house renovation
Another thing I’ve found while not living at home is that I seem to be developing better habits - ie, not going to the fridge for a large glass of wine (or two) every night ( it’s too expensive to buy at the hotel), going to the gym because it’s right here and my laptop is only an arm stretch away at any time, so I’m writing a bit more that usual.
And who knows? If those builders run over schedule (and there’s a high chance they will) there are worse things than having your bed made for you and never having to argue over whose turn it is to clean the bathroom!
Ok, firstly, absolutely loving the gym leggings! Secondly how exciting and how amazing, even if you are at that stage right now when you are wondering why you started 😅, that you have an exciting new chapter ahead at home! So lovely, and it sounds like you have managed to make the hotel stay feel like a retreat. 🙌 Fantastic about the workouts, dog walks and writing – cheering you on (and slightly wondering if you take guests now and then, LOL.😂) You’ve been juggling so much, and doing so brilliantly. You are right, there is just so much going on at this stage of life, and I’m excited for you having this lovely renovation to look forward to! And seriously, those leggings… 🐯💗!!