Vegification [veh-juh-fah-key-shuhn]
noun
1. The act of vegging out and doing absolutely nothing while on vacation, because you deserve it.
[usage: “Don’t send me any emails or texts next week; I will be on spring break with my kids, and I have promised them a proper vegification!]

I heard the word “vegification” recently, and I plan to use it! And not just use it in a sentence, but live it, do it, act on it. For me, the concept is uncomfortable and foreign. If I hadn’t read an article about the importance of putting non-action into action, I probably would have had a better chance of successfully winning a gold medal in Olympic Figure Skating (and I don’t even know how to ice skate) than “surrendering” time to be “productive”.

Also called “chillaxing” by my son, I am now on a mission to find a weekend to take my kids on a vegification. When we’ve gone on trips in the past, I’ve brought a suitcase so jam-packed with all of my leadership coaching and Wear the Cape files that there is literally no room for clothing. Bad, I know…but acceptance is the first step to recovery, right?

Recent weeks have taught me the infinite importance of paying attention to clues from your kids that communicate their needs. Left to my own devices, I would probably keep on running like a haggard working mama machine without ever stopping to take a breath—but lately I’ve seen that my brood needs more of me. They’re making snuggle requests when I’m frantically typing on the computer (and not taking no for an answer by wedging themselves in my lap) and declaring that they want 1:1 time without their other siblings. Today, my oldest daughter even asked me if I would put all of my work away for one entire day and just escape to another city with her. “OK,” I thought. “Let’s make this happen…and for more than just one day.” A vegification TOGETHER will do wonders for us all.

I know you can probably relate; it seems that most families these days try to fit 10 pounds of activities and obligations into a five-pound bag. But YOU also deserve to veg out and do absolutely nothing during a break from the rat race. Give yourself permission to plan for a time of true vegification with your tribe, too…after all, it’s for the sake of the most important people in your world.