When Vacation Mode Becomes Real Life | Week 28 Post-layoff

Four weeks in our tiny rental, and something strange is happening: time is flying—but in slow motion. Here's what we're learning about the difference between slowing down and actually living differently.

We're not on vacation anymore—but it still feels like we are.

Week 28 brought us a more concrete timeline (our house delivery!), a 30th anniversary celebration, and the realization that this "temporary" pace might actually be our new normal.

Some days it feels like we're still on a week-long getaway. Other days, we're completely in step with this new rhythm.

☀️ This Week's Small Victories

We're starting to see the difference between vacation mode and actually living differently:

• 🐕 $14 dog nail trims vs. our old $35 ones (rural living perks!)
• 🥾 Daily fitness walks that didn't exist in our old routine
• 🎂 Anniversary road trip on a Wednesday (because we could)
• 📅 House delivery timeline - late August, here we come!

After their nail trim and bath, the dogs crashed harder than they have in weeks.

🎯 What We're Actually Learning

The "Vacation" Feeling is Real (And That's Okay)

"It doesn't feel like we've been living somewhere different for four weeks," I told Bryan. "It still feels like a week-long vacation."

We kept waiting for this feeling to wear off. Turns out, maybe it's not supposed to.

💡 Lesson: What if "doing nothing" is often code for "doing what we actually want"? When you remove the pressure of endless home maintenance, long work days with corporate urgency, life starts feeling more... vacation-like. Not because you're not working, but because you're not drowning.

Mornings Without Panic

I used to wake up and immediately go to my home office to start working sometimes at 4 a.m. I'd stop around 7 a.m. so Bryan and I could walk the dogs, then back to work until noon when he'd have a quick lunch made for me that I would typically eat at my desk, then back to work until 4 or 5 p.m. I was drowning.

Now? We wake up later (no guilt), walk the dogs, take a 20-minute fitness walk, do some stretching, then ease into the day.

The surprise: The work that matters gets done. Without the morning panic spiral.

💡 Lesson: Urgency addiction is real. When you remove it, productivity doesn't disappear—stress does.

Community Happens When You Have Time for It

In nine years at our old house, we knew a handful of neighbors. Here? We've met and connected with more people in four weeks than we did in nearly a decade.

The difference: We're not rushing. When someone stops to chat during our morning walk, we have time to actually chat. We even skipped Saturday's farmers market to attend the community pancake breakfast, then spent hours on the porch with neighbors.

💡 Lesson: Community requires presence, not just proximity. When you're always rushing, connection becomes impossible.

🏡 The Timeline We've Been Waiting For

August 22nd: Picture day (meaning our house is ready) Late August: Delivery = First week of August: Final paperwork and payments

After months of "sometime in August," we finally have some dates. And, although we are anxious to rush toward them, we're giving ourselves permission to enjoy these next 4-6 weeks of fewer items on the to do list.

"Once the house comes, we'll be busy again," I said. "Just like when we opened the restaurant."

So we're choosing to embrace this in-between space instead of wishing it away.

🎭 Road Trip Anniversary & Redefining Our Lists

We've been married for 30 years, and we celebrated with a Wednesday adventure to Texarkana—a town that straddles Texas and Arkansas.

We laughed about how we decided to get married in Vegas during a vacation, right before we opened our first bar and grill. The vacation included a wedding, and then it turned into years of long hours, late nights, and all-consuming business ownership along with my full-time job and part-time work helping with the business.

This year, we celebrated by waiting a day. Why? Because we could.

The moment that made it special: Sitting in an air-conditioned restaurant with our dogs while police officers and firefighters enjoyed lunch at nearby tables. The dogs were so well-behaved we got to eat inside with them (a small miracle in July heat in Texas).

During the drive, we talked about the kind of list we want to live by now. We made a new list this week: items that moved from "have to do" to "would like to do." Learning the drone we bought years ago but never had time for. Painting. Reading. Working out regularly.

The hard part: Letting go of the belief that if we're not overwhelmed, we're not being productive enough.

The deeper realization: Freedom isn't about having more money to do bigger things. It's about having the time and flexibility to do things when you want to do them. And productivity without overwhelm is still productivity—it's just more sustainable.

💰 Small Wins That Add Up

Old nail trim cost: $70 for both dogs
New nail trim cost: $28 for both dogs
Annual savings: $336

It's not life-changing money, but it's more than half a month's lot rent for us now! Sometimes moving 45 minutes away from a major city creates opportunities you didn't know existed.

🔮 Looking Ahead (Without Getting Ahead of Ourselves)

We're learning to take things one day at a time. Make decisions as they come up. Deal with unknowns when they become knowns.

The old us: Would be planning every detail of the move-in, stressing about timelines, creating contingency plans for contingency plans.

The current us: "We'll unpack a little at a time so we can still move around in 399 square feet. We'll figure out the storage building when we get there."

It turns out that not having everything figured out isn't a problem to solve—it's a skill to develop.

🤔 If You're Considering a Big Change

Here's what this week taught us about transitions:

Give yourself permission to feel like you're on vacation. That might be what life feels like when it's not built around other people's urgency.

Expect the "how has it been four weeks?" feeling. Time moves differently when you're not counting down to weekends.

Don't rush toward the next phase. The in-between space has lessons you can't learn anywhere else.

Start with mornings. How you begin the day sets the tone for everything else.

The thing about slowing down? It's not just about doing less. It's about having the space to notice what you actually want to be doing.

What would your mornings look like if you didn't have to rush into them?

Here's to finding our rhythm,
-Kathy & Bryan

This post is part of our Midlifehood Transition series, documenting our journey from traditional homeowners to tiny home living after an unexpected layoff. Follow along for real-time updates as we move into the tiny home rental this week on Facebook and Instagram as we navigate this life change together.

👉 Want to read these posts before they hit social? Subscribe here