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Taking a time out can give you a new lease on life. We all know when we need one. We all have a built in meter that tells us when we're just about on the verge of either physical exhaustion or stressed to the max by the trials and tribulations of everyday life. When we get the signal, it's time to seriously consider taking a time out.

Taking a time out, however, can mean different things to different people. A time out for one person may mean calling in sick to the job for the day so they can stay home and do nothing. To another, it may mean getting away for a 3-day weekend where they can relax and take the time to come down from all the annoying details of life.

One of my best time outs ever was when my sister and niece and I took a spur of the moment trip to a beach town a few hours away from where we lived in Washington. It was one of the most relaxing vacations I ever took, even though it was only for a few days.

We found a little inn with private cottages, nothing fancy, but not bad for the money. It smelled like the beach with a whiff of mildew, but it didn't bother us, at all, because we were all so happy to get away from our daily routines. It had a lot of charm in its own way, and we felt welcomed as soon as we entered the front door.

In the tiny downtown, we found a great kite shop and bought some terrific kites. Mine was a pirate kite and I had a ball playing with it on the beach. A little boy came up to me, as he had the same kite; and we flew them together for awhile. It had been years since I did anything like it, and I had truly forgotten how much fun it could be and how refreshing it was to be out appreciating the beautiful blue sky and sparkling water. All of my problems and concerns seemed to blow away with the gusts of salty sea air.

At night, we brought in take-out food for dinner and relaxed without a TV in sight. I found a stack of diaries written by the many people who had stayed in the same cottage over the years. It was intriguing to read them; I couldn't put them down and finished them all before we left. My sister also got into them. Some people who wrote came back again and again, and reading about them and their private thoughts put to paper made me feel as though I knew them.

When we finally had to leave to go back to our real lives, I was sad in a way but able to return home with a feeling of contentment because I had been able to take a time out that totally refreshed my body and spirit.

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