Power Up Your Vacation by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

Power Up for Vacation

By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS

The Florida influx has begun.

If you really want a tan, one toasty day in the summer should do the trick. So why waste a whole week doing what you can do in a day?! But I suspect there may be more to your Florida vacation.

Perhaps it’s those awesome restaurants everyone’s heard about. Alhough, who even gets in if they didn’t reserve months in advance? All summer you can sashay right into them, but yeshiva break week?! Best of luck!

Plan in advance or hang out at Publix – those are your choices.

You may be coming for the great walks on the boardwalk. But don’t hold your breath. Those are long gone. The wood you see now is still on the trees. Today, the boardwalk is made of cement or hard sand. It isn’t bad. But those sentimental days of splitting boards and tiny splinters are only a distant memory.

Then again, you may be a swimmer and that’s fun to do…if you’re out early, of course. Because with all the new building going on, most pool areas can’t locate the sun by 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Oh, it’s there, but you’ve got to go out to the beach to find it.

Of course, the beach can be grand, especially the ocean, as long as you don’t get one of the seaweed, stonefilled, shell-ridden, jelly fish days.

Now, I know I seem to be focusing on the negatives – and I am. But, hey, there are amazing positives, too. Some weeks the ocean is like a beautiful, glossy river – calm and inviting. The walking paths are soothing and vibrant. The restaurants are tasty and social. The weather is warm and embracing.

There are malls to visit. Boating to enjoy. Palm trees that are beautiful and swaying. Areas that are hopping and popping with new energy.

Yes, Florida can be a great “getaway” from the cold and uncomfortable. And when your visit far south seems hackneyed, you can always take a ride to Or-

lando and try another form of entertainment with torturously long lines – the negative view – or creatively fun rides – the positive view.

You see, the point is wherever you go, there’s risks and rewards. Positive and negative experiences.

Your job is to make sure you make the vacation a vacation. What comes your way, that’s a crapshoot, as they say. But what you make of it? Well, that’s in your hands. There’s always something else to do or at least another way to look at it.

Remember, even the Florida residents can say, “Oh my gosh, so many people taking over our state” or “Isn’t it great to have visitors? It’s a boom to our economy!”

Wishing you all a great vacation wherever you go – best weather, best time. But mostly, best attitude – because that’s in your power!

Your job is to make sure you make the vacation a vacation.

Rivki Rosenwald is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist working with both couples and individuals and is a certified relationship counselor. Rivki is a co-founder and creator of an effective Parent Management of Adolescent Years Program. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or at rivkirosenwald@gmail.com.