For the longest time, Deb has had one dream: to go on an amazing trip to Greece. But her husband, Dan, continues to put it off. When Deb is well into her 60s, she takes matters into her own hands and uses all the money she has saved to finally go on her trip. But when she comes back, will Dan still be there?For as long as I could remember, Greece had been my dream place for a trip. I\u2019d picture myself walking through the ruins of Athens on vacation, watching the sun dip below the horizon in Santorini, the whitewashed cliffs glowing in the evening light.Dreamy, right? That vision was the one thing that kept me going through the grind of life, the countless sacrifices, the constant pressure of work. Greece was my escape, my reward after years of holding it together.\n
So, I started saving. Every dollar I could spare went into a little fund, hidden away for the trip I\u2019d promised myself I\u2019d take one day. My plan was simple: I\u2019d save up as much as I could, and when I reached my goal, I\u2019d go on this dream trip with my husband, Dan. We\u2019d been married for years, and from the very beginning, I\u2019d been upfront about this magical trip that I dreamed of.\u201dWe\u2019ll go next year, Deb,\u201d Dan always said. \u201cYeah, honey, I\u2019m all for it. Let\u2019s just get everything in order with our home and let me pay off my debt, and then I\u2019m good to go!\u201d At first, I believed him. I mean, why wouldn\u2019t I?\n
But when Dan started to talk about his debt more, I figured that if I wanted to make this trip happen, I should start saving more for our trip. I was a private chef at the time, and I worked for two different families per week, but because I wanted to make more money, I started doing personal orders for custom cakes or desserts.\u201dWhy are you overdoing it at work, Deb?\u201d Dan asked me one evening when I was too tired to cook, so I ordered pizza for our dinner. \u201cBecause I want to save money, Dan,\u201d I said simply. \u201cI want to get us to Greece.\u201d \u201cOh, for goodness\u2019 sake, Deborah. When will you stop about Greece?\u201d he muttered.\n
\u201cI\u2019ll stop when I go. Don\u2019t you want to come with me?\u201d I asked.My husband softened and poured me a glass of wine. \u201cOf course, darling,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I\u2019m just stressed out at work. Being a math teacher to kids who don\u2019t want to learn is so difficult.\u201d\u201dIt\u2019s okay,\u201d I said, trying to figure out whether he was being sincere or not. \u201cI promise you, Deb, I\u2019m all for it,\u201d he said.Naturally, I thought that we would work toward it together. But every time the topic came up, Dan would say something about \u201cnext year.\u201d And every time \u201cnext year\u201d came around, there was some excuse. \u201cWork is too busy, Deb.\u201d \u201cI can\u2019t afford to take the time off.\u201d \u201cThe geyser is broken and the dishwasher is on its way out. We need to prioritize that before we think about a holiday.\u201dI told myself that it was okay. After all, we\u2019d go eventually, right? That\u2019s what people did, put off things for a while, then enjoyed them when life finally settled down. Only, life never really did settle down. Instead, the years flew by without any mention of the trip. And by the time I was almost 65, I\u2019d saved enough for both of us to go. And it wasn\u2019t just a small amount \u2014 I could easily afford business-class tickets and 5-star hotels.I decided that I wasn\u2019t waiting anymore.\n
I planned everything. A two-week dream vacation. Athens, Santorini, and Mykonos, all the places I\u2019d only ever seen in travel magazines. I even bought myself a new swimsuit, something that I hadn\u2019t done in years. I wanted to feel good, feel alive, and for once, enjoy the life I\u2019d been working so hard to build. So, I sat Dan down one evening. I even made him his favorite lamb chops and roasted potatoes to help sweeten the deal.\u201dDan,\u201d I began. \u201cI\u2019ve saved enough. Let\u2019s go to Greece for my 65th birthday.\u201d He looked up from his phone, his fork almost in his mouth, and barely glanced at me before letting out a sharp laugh.\u201dGreece? Deb, really? At your age?\u201d he said cynically. \u201cWhat\u2019s that supposed to mean?\u201d I froze. My husband leaned back, shaking his head like I\u2019d lost my mind completely and he would have to explain things slowly to me. Like I was one of his students.\u201dI mean, come on, Greece?\u201d he said, shaking his head. \u201cYou\u2019re too old for that now, aren\u2019t you? What are you going to do there? Walk around in that silly swimsuit you bought? No one wants to see that. You don\u2019t want to be parading around in front of a bunch of young people.\u201d It was the way he said it, like I was just a foolish child who didn\u2019t know better, that made my skin crawl. I sat there, stunned, my mind scrambling to understand how the man I\u2019d been married to for decades could say something so cruel.\u201dI\u2019ve been saving for this trip for years, Dan. We\u2019ve always talked about going together. I want to enjoy it with you.\u201d He shrugged. \u201cYeah, well, maybe you should set your sights on something more\u2026 reasonable. Like how about a trip to a cabin somewhere, maybe? Or to the beach? Something nice and quiet, where you can sit and read. Greece is for people half our age. You\u2019re not twenty anymore.\u201d\n
My throat tightened, but I forced myself to speak.\u201dThis is my dream, Dan,\u201d I said simply. His expression hardened, and he threw his half-eaten lamb chop onto his plate. \u201cYour dream is a waste of time and money, Deb. Speaking of which, why don\u2019t you give me that money you\u2019ve saved? I\u2019ve been thinking about a fishing trip with the guys. That\u2019s a much better use of the money. You don\u2019t need to blow it on some ridiculous fantasy.\u201dThat\u2019s when something inside me snapped. All these years, I\u2019d been waiting for him. I put off my happiness, my freedom, my dream, because I thought we were in this together. It was supposed to be Dan and me forever. It was supposed to be us discovering Greece as a couple.But we weren\u2019t. He\u2019d never cared about my dream.I stood up, pushing my chair back with force. \u201cI\u2019m going to Greece, Dan,\u201d I said. \u201cSure you are,\u201d he scoffed. The next morning, while Dan was out, I did something I didn\u2019t have the courage to do before. I booked the trip for the next day. Two weeks in Greece. No hesitation. No checking with Dan. Nothing.It was just about me and what I wanted. I packed my bags, grabbed a pen, and left a note on the kitchen counter. Dan, you\u2019re right. I am too old. Too old to keep waiting for someone who doesn\u2019t care about my happiness. Enjoy your fishing trip, you\u2019ll have to pay for it yourself. Then, I left. I didn\u2019t know what would happen next, and honestly, I didn\u2019t care. I just knew that if I stayed, I\u2019d never forgive myself. And I would start to despise Dan.The moment I stepped off the plane in Athens, I felt something shift in me. The air was different, lighter, and warmer. I wasn\u2019t waiting anymore. I walked through the ancient ruins, the history of the place washing over me like a wave. I stood on a cliff in Santorini, and for the first time in years, I felt free.And of course, I wore the swimsuit I bought. And you know what? I felt beautiful in it. I didn\u2019t care what anyone thought. I was living my life.Finally. Then, something magical happened. It was on one of those lovely nights in Santorini that I met Michael. He was sitting alone in a caf\u00e9, with a kind smile on his face as he looked out at the water. We struck up a conversation, and before I knew it, we were sharing dinner, talking for hours about our lives.\n
\u201cA personal chef?\u201d he asked, raising his eyebrows. \u201cThat\u2019s impressive.\u201d \u201cI love using my hands,\u201d I said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s an intimacy to cooking that I adore.\u201dWe spent the rest of the trip together, exploring islands, drinking cocktails, laughing over meals, and savoring the kind of connection I hadn\u2019t realized I was missing. Michael saw me, really saw me, not as someone who was \u201ctoo old\u201d or past her prime, but as a woman who wanted to do something with her life. Greece was everything I wanted and needed, and more. When I finally returned home, Dan was gone. He\u2019d packed up and left. But there was a note telling me that he had moved in with his brother.Instead of feeling abandoned or lost, I felt relief. I was free. Now, months later, I\u2019m still in touch with Michael, waiting to see what happens next.What would you have done? If you enjoyed this story, here\u2019s another one for you: My Boyfriend Invited Me on a \u2018Proposal\u2019 Trip and Spent It With His Best Friend Instead \u2014 My Revenge Was Priceless When Ella\u2019s boyfriend, Ian, plans a romantic getaway to Santorini, she takes the hint that a proposal is on its way. But when the couple gets to their destination, they are surprised by the arrival of Ian\u2019s best friend, Mark. Will Ella get her dream getaway, or will it end in a disaster?I\u2019ve never been the girl who had a timeline on her dating life. I\u2019d been with Ian for two years and I knew that we were heading in the marriage direction, but still, time wasn\u2019t an issue for me. But then, for the past six months, Ian had been dropping hints about an \u201cunforgettable surprise\u201d he had planned for our summer trip to Santorini.Every time I pressed for details, my boyfriend would just flash a mysterious smile and say, \u201cYou\u2019ll see, Ella. Just you wait.\u201d And Ian wasn\u2019t one to plan surprises properly. He seemed to have let the cat out of the bag easily. There were moments when he would casually browse engagement rings online, leaving the tabs open for me to find.On one occasion, when we were having a quiet night in, he even asked me what my dream wedding looked like.\u201dI just want to try and picture what you see when you think about it,\u201d he said. Naturally, excitement got the better of me. Was this really it? Was Ian finally going to propose to me? The weeks passed and before I knew it, we were packing for our trip.\u201dI can\u2019t believe that we\u2019re finally doing this!\u201d Ian exclaimed, as he went into his closet and pulled out more clothes to pack.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My Husband Postponed My Dream Vacation for Years \u2013 Then Told Me I Was \u2018Too Old\u2019 for It Now For the longest time, Deb has had one dream: to go on an amazing trip to Greece. But her husband, Dan, continues to put it off. When Deb is well into her 60s, she takes matters\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":92295,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[855],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-92292","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-story"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/272.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92292"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92296,"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92292\/revisions\/92296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justmetalking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}