Family vacation......something I look forward to all year, and I want to tell you why.
When I was little, my two sisters and I would pile into the family van (with no AC and only the little "wing" windows in the back) with my mom and my Grandma and we would take off on some grand adventure. I'm sure for the adults it was mostly hell, at the time it seemed that way to us anyway, but some of my best childhood memories and experiences come from those trips. We never went too far, but we saw just about everything there was to see in Missouri and Arkansas! We saw caves, highway flea markets, the St. Louis Gateway Arch, Dog patch USA, Six-Flags over mid-america, Branson, Silver Dollar City, rode "The Ducks", we got lost in bad parts of big cities, we got tired and cranky, we had fun, we made memories.
Really that is what life is about, making memories. When my sisters and I look back on those trips, we never talk about our vehicle, or even what star level hotels we stayed at. We talk about the experiences, after all those are all that matter.
So every year, I stress myself to the max, trying to plan the "perfect" family vacation......wanting my kids to see as much as they can see,leaving my husband baffled by why these family vacations are SO important to me.
"We do not remember days, we remember moments" - Cesar Pavese
Family vacations are so important to me because I get to watch my kids discover new things and realize the world is much larger and diverse than ourselves and our little town. We have taken big vacations, we have taken small "stay-cations", the point is ALWAYS just to go somewhere together to have a new experience. When we first started vacations I would take a small binder with me, highlighting everything we would do, I even had the times we would visit each thing, I would really try to pack our days full. I have realized since those early vacations, that it is impossible to schedule every minute of a vacation, and really it just stresses me out more. So, now we just have a general idea, we try to pick one thing to do every day and the rest we play by ear. Jason and I have taken a few vacations by ourselves, in our 15 years of marriage we have been on vacation exactly 3 times without our kids and every time (except Vegas) I have wished the kids were with us. There is nothing like experiencing new things through the eyes of your children.
Our vacations used to consist of visiting Iowa, then we decided it was time to branch out. We really love when the grandparents can join us, it is an amazing thing to watch really, I think watching my mom, dad,and in-laws interact with my children, make memories with them and just watching them enjoy themselves as grandparents is awesome. We also like when we can meet up with friends a long the way, and have them become part of our experience. As most everyone knows, we just returned from a 5 day trip to Arizona, this was our first whole family airplane ride, and we got to see some of our favorite people as well as some amazing things. From breathtaking views of the Red Rocks in Sedona to the awe-inspiring beauty of the Grand Canyon, it was one of the best vacations we have been on. (I say this after every vacation).
This year (in the Fall) for the first time as adults we will be trying a "whole family" vacation with my mom, dad, sisters, and all of our kids. I know we won't all get along the whole time, but I know we will make some pretty awesome memories for our kids.
So, my advice for vacation is simple.....GO! Just go somewhere........try to relax, don't over plan because it won't go as planned, there will be bumps in the road, it won't be the end of the world, I promise (something I learned from a very inspiring friend).
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do , than by the things you did do. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour & catch the tradewinds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain
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