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Sometimes It’s Okay to Book the Trip and Run Away for a While

So, we did something that might sound a little crazy: we booked a last-minute trip to Disney.



An adults-only Disney trip, to be exact.



And as strange as the timing and circumstances were, it turned out to be exactly what we needed.

The Week That Changed Everything

Wrangler was young. Way too young for losing him to even be something we were thinking about.



There wasn't a long illness where we had time to prepare ourselves or slowly come to terms with what was happening. Everything happened incredibly fast. One minute life was normal, and the next we were doing everything we possibly could to save him.



When it was over, we were exhausted, heartbroken, and trying to process how our normal life had changed so quickly.



Anyone who has ever really loved a dog knows how much of your everyday life revolves around them without you even realizing it. It's not just the big things you miss. It's hearing them walk through the house, seeing them in their usual spot, filling the food bowl, grabbing the leash, letting them outside, or having them waiting for you when you get home.



Then suddenly all of those little routines are gone, but everything that reminds you of them is still there.



The house felt painfully quiet without Wrangler, and honestly, sitting there surrounded by all of those reminders was making everything feel even heavier.



We weren't trying to 'get over it.' We just needed to breathe somewhere else for a few days.

And Before You Say, 'Bre… What About RayRay?'

Yes, RayRay lost her dog, too.



Trust me, we thought about that. Wrangler was her buddy, and her whole world had changed right along with ours. Leaving her behind immediately after losing him wasn't something I felt great about.



But here's where the timing worked out in a way we hadn't planned.



My parents were already heading to the beach a few days later, and RayRay was going with them. In fact, THEY were the ones telling Dustin and me that we needed to go somewhere.



They could see how emotionally drained we were, and their message was basically, 'We've got RayRay. You two need this. Go.'



My parents have been married for 46 years, so when they give marriage advice—especially advice that involves taking a vacation—I tend to think it's probably worth listening to.



RayRay would get her own little beach getaway with Grandma and Grandpa, and we knew she'd be loved, spoiled, and well taken care of.



So that left one question: where were Dustin and I going?

Our Pick? Disney.

Yep. Disney.



Specifically, an adults-only Disney trip, which might not be everyone's first thought when they hear 'we need to get away,' but for us it made perfect sense.



The other slightly ironic part of all of this was that it was also our anniversary.



This obviously wasn't how we'd imagined celebrating. We weren't exactly in a romantic, pop-the-champagne-and-celebrate kind of mood, and we didn't have the emotional energy to plan some elaborate anniversary getaway.



What we needed was somewhere easy, familiar, and happy.



Disney checked all three boxes.

Why Disney Was Exactly What We Needed

There are times when I want travel to be adventurous. I want to explore somewhere new, plan all the things, find the hidden restaurants, see everything there is to see, and come home feeling like we really experienced a destination.



This was not one of those times.



Our brains were fried. We didn't want complicated, and we definitely didn't need a trip that required a lot from us.



Disney was familiar. We knew how it worked, we knew there would be plenty to do, and we could make the trip as busy or as lazy as we wanted. We could ride rides, have a good meal, walk around with a drink, eat something shaped like Mickey Mouse, and let our biggest problem for the afternoon be deciding where we wanted to have dinner.



After the week we'd had, there was something comforting about being somewhere that was so unapologetically happy.



We needed a little bit of that.

No, Travel Doesn't Fix Grief

I don't want this to sound like I'm suggesting you can book a vacation and magically leave grief at home, because obviously that's not how it works.



Wrangler was still gone when we got to Disney. We talked about him while we were there, we missed him while we were there, and there were moments when the sadness showed up right in the middle of what was supposed to be our escape.



Grief travels remarkably well. Apparently it doesn't even need a carry-on.



What changed was our surroundings.



At home, it felt like everywhere we looked there was another reminder of what had just happened. At Disney, our brains had other things to process. There were people everywhere, music playing, rides to go on, food to try, places to walk, and decisions to make that had absolutely nothing to do with the previous week.



For a little while, something would distract us and we'd laugh.



At first, I think there's almost a strange guilt that comes with that. How can you be this heartbroken and also be standing in Disney World having fun?



But those two things aren't mutually exclusive.



Laughing didn't mean we weren't devastated about Wrangler. Enjoying a good meal didn't mean we'd forgotten him. Having a genuinely good moment together didn't somehow diminish how much we loved him.



We were grieving, and we were also allowed to enjoy ourselves.

The Anniversary Trip We Never Would Have Planned

Looking back, I'm glad the trip happened to fall around our anniversary.



We didn't force ourselves to turn it into some big romantic celebration. There was no pressure to make it the 'perfect anniversary trip.' We just spent a few days together after a week that had taken a lot out of both of us.



We ate good food, had drinks, rode rides, walked until our feet hurt, talked about Wrangler, talked about things that had nothing to do with Wrangler, and laughed when something was funny.



When we were sad, we were sad. When we were having fun, we let ourselves have fun.



It wasn't about pretending the previous week hadn't happened. It was about taking care of each other after it did.



Maybe my parents and their 46 years of marriage knew what they were talking about after all.

Sometimes It's Okay to Run Away for a Few Days

I think we put a lot of expectations on travel. Trips are supposed to be planned months in advance, tied to a bucket list, centered around a celebration, or justified by some big reason.



But sometimes the reason is simply, 'I cannot sit in this house right now.'



I think that's a perfectly valid reason to travel, too.



Maybe you've lost someone you love. Maybe you've lost a pet and the house suddenly feels completely different without them. Maybe you're going through a breakup, dealing with burnout, or you've just had one of those weeks—or months—where life has absolutely kicked your butt.



Going somewhere doesn't mean you're running away from reality forever. Sometimes you just need a change of scenery long enough to catch your breath.



There is a difference between refusing to deal with something and recognizing that you need a few days away from the place where it feels the heaviest.



For us, Disney gave us that.

So Yes, Book the Last-Minute Trip

If life has knocked the wind out of you and you keep thinking, 'I just want to get out of here for a few days,' I'm giving you permission to listen to that feeling.



It doesn't have to be Disney. Maybe you need the beach, a cabin in the mountains, or an all-inclusive where someone brings you drinks by the pool and you accomplish absolutely nothing for three days.



Maybe you go somewhere you've visited ten times because familiar sounds much better than adventurous right now. Maybe you only go a couple of hours from home, check into a hotel, order room service, and watch terrible TV.



Or maybe, like us, you decide an adults-only Disney trip and eating your feelings in Mickey-shaped snacks sounds pretty darn good.



The point isn't where you go.



It's giving yourself permission to go.



Travel can't fix what happened, and it won't make grief disappear. What it can do is give you a different place to carry it for a little while. Sometimes that change of scenery gives you enough space to laugh again, reconnect with the person beside you, or simply realize that having a good day doesn't mean you've forgotten the bad one.

And Then We Came Home

Of course, eventually we had to come home.



Disney hadn't changed what happened, and Wrangler wasn't suddenly going to be waiting for us when we walked through the door. RayRay came home from her beach trip without her buddy there, too, and we still had to figure out what our new normal looked like without him.



But Dustin and I came home a little more rested and a little more able to face it together.



We had laughed. We'd eaten some really good food. We'd celebrated an anniversary we hadn't particularly felt like celebrating, and for a few days we'd allowed ourselves to enjoy something in the middle of being incredibly sad.



That's what I want people to understand about traveling after a loss.

Travel Isn't Only for the Happy Parts of Life

As a travel advisor, I spend a lot of time helping people travel for wonderful reasons—honeymoons, anniversaries, birthdays, family vacations, bucket-list adventures, and celebrations.



But sometimes people travel because life is wonderful, and sometimes they travel because life absolutely sucks.



Both are valid reasons to go.



Travel doesn't always have to be about seeing somewhere new or checking another destination off your list. Sometimes it's about changing the view when the one you've been staring at hurts too much. Sometimes it's about reconnecting with your person after you've both been through something awful. Sometimes it's about having something to look forward to when the past few days have given you very little to look forward to.



And sometimes it's simply about remembering that you're still allowed to laugh and enjoy something, even when you're heartbroken.



I would have traded every ride, every meal, and every minute of that Disney trip to have Wrangler back. There isn't even a question about that.



But that wasn't an option.



What we could do was take care of each other, get out of the house for a few days, and give ourselves a little room to breathe.



So we went to Disney.



And you know what?



I'm really glad we did.

Need to Run Away for a Little While?

If life has you wanting to just run away for a few days, let’s plan it. Sometimes a change of scenery really is exactly what you need.



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