The In Between
- Jacob Allen
- Jul 1
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 2
There’s a space between vacations that nobody talks about. It's the alarm clock at 5:00 AM. It's the 16-hour workdays. It's the aching back. The missed family dinners. The emails that never stop. The endless cycle of responsibilities, bills, obligations, and stress. It's the grind. The "I'll do it tomorrow." The "Maybe next year." The "I just need to get through this week."
And before you know it, weeks become months. Months become years. Life becomes something you're surviving instead of living.
This is what I call The In Between.
The time between the moments that make us feel alive.
And somewhere along the way, something else happens. The birthdays start arriving a little faster. The calendar pages seem to turn a little quicker. The summers don't feel endless anymore. For most of our lives, we assume there will always be more time. More opportunities. More adventures.
More tomorrows.
Then one day, usually somewhere around 50, we begin to realize that time may be life's most valuable currency. Not because we're old. But because we're finally old enough to understand its value.
And suddenly, The In Between feels different.
The grind isn't just exhausting anymore. It starts feeling expensive. Not financially. Emotionally. Because every day spent postponing life is a day you'll never get back.
The Lie We Tell Ourselves
The dangerous thing about The In Between is that it doesn't feel dangerous. It feels responsible. It feels productive. It feels like what adults are supposed to do.
We tell ourselves:
"After this project."
"After the busy season."
"After the kids graduate."
"After we save a little more money."
"Next year."
But life has a funny way of moving the finish line.
There is always another project. Another bill. Another obligation. Another reason to wait.
And while we're busy planning for tomorrow, today's opportunities quietly slip away. The beach sunsets. The spontaneous adventures. The meals shared with people we love. The memories that become stories years later.
Those moments don't wait.
When we're younger, we think we'll have plenty of chances. Plenty of summers. Plenty of adventures. Plenty of opportunities to take the trip. Then one day we realize that life isn't measured in years. It's measured in moments. And moments are far too precious to keep postponing.
Travel Was Never Really About Travel
Most people think travel is about beaches, resorts, fancy hotels, or checking destinations off a bucket list. But travel has never really been about the destination. It's about what happens to you while you're there.
For a brief moment, the noise disappears. The deadlines don't matter. Nobody cares what your title is. Nobody is asking for anything from you.
You're simply present.
You wake up to the sound of waves instead of notifications. You watch a sunset instead of a screen. You share conversations that don't revolve around work. You remember what it feels like to laugh. To breathe. To feel excited again. To feel alive.
Somewhere Along the Way, We Stopped Dreaming
When we were kids, the world felt enormous. Anything seemed possible. We dreamed about the places we'd go, the adventures we'd have, and the people we'd become. We imagined exploring distant countries, standing in places we'd only seen in books and movies, watching sunsets from beaches we'd never heard of, and walking ancient streets thousands of miles from home.
Back then, we believed life would be an adventure. We couldn't wait to grow up. To have the freedom to go wherever we wanted. To see what was beyond the horizon. To experience everything the world had to offer.
But life has a way of changing the story.
Some dreams got replaced by responsibilities. Others got buried beneath bills, careers, obligations, and expectations. A few were shattered by disappointment. Some were simply forgotten.
Little by little, the world that once felt limitless became smaller. Safer. More predictable.
Days became routines.
Routines became years.
And many of the dreams that once made us excited about the future were quietly placed on a shelf labeled "someday."
Yet somewhere along the way, life convinced us that experiences should come after everything else. That we'll travel when we have more time. More money. More freedom.
The problem is that none of those things are guaranteed.
The perfect time rarely arrives.
The truth is that most of us aren't waiting for the right moment.
We're waiting for permission.
Permission to take the trip.
Permission to spend the money.
Permission to prioritize ourselves for once.
But the older I get, the more I realize something important:
The people who live the fullest lives aren't the ones who waited until everything was perfect.
They're the ones who decided that their dreams were worth pursuing before perfect ever arrived.
Something Strange Happens When We Travel
Something strange happens when we travel. We become the version of ourselves we forgot existed.
The curious version.
The adventurous version.
The version that isn't constantly stressed, rushed, or exhausted.
The version that says yes.
The version that dreams.
The version that notices things.
Maybe that's why travel feels different as we get older. Not more exciting. More meaningful. Because we're no longer chasing destinations. We're chasing experiences. We're chasing connection.
We're chasing memories that will matter long after the souvenirs are forgotten.
The smell of fresh bread in a small Italian café. The sound of steel drums drifting across a Caribbean beach. The feeling of warm sand beneath your feet. The sight of a sunset that makes you stop talking because words simply aren't enough.
Those moments remind us that life is bigger than our routines.
Bigger than our jobs. Bigger than our worries
Travel isn't an escape from life. It's a return to it.
Why Travel Changes Us
Travel isn't just relaxation. It's perspective. Especially after 50.
Because by then, most of us have learned something important.
The things we spent decades chasing rarely bring the fulfillment we expected.
The promotion feels good for a while. The bigger house eventually becomes just another house. The new car eventually becomes an old car.
But experiences?
Experiences stay with us.
They become part of our story.
When you're standing on a cliff in Aruba watching waves crash into the coastline, sipping espresso in a quiet Roman café, snorkeling with sea turtles in Belize, or watching the sun disappear behind the Pitons in St. Lucia, you realize how small your problems really are.
Not because they disappear.
But because the world suddenly becomes bigger.
Travel reminds us that there is beauty beyond our routines, cultures beyond our neighborhoods, and possibilities beyond our current circumstances.
It expands us.
It challenges us.
It inspires us.
And often, it heals parts of us we didn't even realize were exhausted.
The Return Home
And then we come home.
The emails are still there.
The responsibilities haven't disappeared.
The grind resumes.
But something has changed.
You.
You've been reminded why you're working so hard in the first place.
Not to collect things.
Not to impress people.
Not to spend your life staring at a clock.
But to experience life.
To create memories.
To collect stories.
To share adventures with the people you love.
One of the most overlooked parts of travel isn't leaving. It's coming home.
You return with a clearer mind, a lighter heart, new ideas, new goals, and a renewed appreciation for your family, your friends, and even your work.
Because travel doesn't make us abandon our lives. It helps us reconnect with them. The best trips don't change where we live. They change how we live. And that's where the transformation happens.
The World Is Waiting
If you're reading this during a lunch break, sitting in an office, working another long shift, feeling exhausted, stressed, or stuck, know this:
The In Between isn't forever.
The world is still out there waiting for you.
The beaches.
The mountains.
The hidden cafés.
The island sunsets.
The ancient cities.
The adventures you promised yourself you'd take someday.
Don't wait for life to slow down. It probably won't.
In fact, if you're over 50, you've probably already discovered something surprising. Life doesn't slow down. It speeds up. The years seem shorter. The seasons pass more quickly.
Which makes every trip, every adventure, every sunset, and every memory that much more valuable.
Because the older we get, the more we realize that life isn't found in someday.
It's found in now.
Make the time.
Take the trip.
Create the memory.
Because years from now, you won't remember most of the emails you answered. You won't remember the extra shift you worked. You won't remember the meeting that felt so important.
But you'll remember the feeling of warm Caribbean water against your skin. You'll remember watching the sunset from a rooftop in Italy. You'll remember the laughter, the stories, and the people you shared it with.
Life isn't found at the destination.
But sometimes, a destination reminds us how to live.
And maybe that's exactly what we need during The In Between.
Ready to Stop Living in The In Between?
Whether it's watching the sunset over the Caribbean, exploring hidden villages in Greece, sailing through Belize, or wandering the ancient streets of Rome, the perfect trip isn't really about where you're going.
It's about who you become when you get there.
At Salty Starfish Travel, we don't just book vacations.
We help people reconnect with themselves, their families, and the world around them.
Because life is too short to spend all of it in The In Between.
✨ The world is waiting.
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