Who doesn’t love a vacation? Toes in the water at the beach, the sunshine that is not too hot, picture perfect blue skies, no chores to do and no worries… the kind of vacation where I close my eyes, feel the breeze from the ocean, have an adult beverage and book in hand….aka PARADISE. Well, pre-mama me (or baby-free me) freaking LOVES vacation, DREAMS of vacation, YEARNS for vacation even just ten minutes of said vacation. But Mama-me, not so much. Okay, okay I will say it, Mama-me HATES vacation, loathes it even. I come home from vacation needing a vacation from vacation.
We planned our first “vacation” with our son to Sandusky, Ohio. It just so happened that I had to go there for a work conference. Friday morning and Saturday morning I had to take classes to keep my law license active via continuing education. The nerd/geek in me was super pumped (and I would be lying if said I didn’t really enjoy it). The part I didn’t enjoy was the packing and unpacking. When you have kids you pack for three months despite the trip only being three days. We took a truck full. The pack and play, the jogging stroller, the dog crate, the pool rafts, the pool towels, the beach bag, clothes and toiletries, toys, pacifiers (the favorite, the spare, and the spare of the spare), baby blankets, stuffed animals, more toys, diapers, several extra outfit changes, snacks, sippy cups, sunblock, hats, sun glasses, etc. It was insane. All of which took me nearly 4 days to list and pack in preparation for this trip.
So we get the car packed up and make the journey to Sandusky. I had my classes in the morning 8-12, and had the whole afternoon. It sounds glorious. The sun was out the beach was gorgeous. There a ton of kid-friendly activities to do. Sounds perfect. Until everyone wants to do something else or everyone has other plans in mind. Or until you realize you are the pregnant one with the kid who always gets left behind. So the trip I looked forward to ended up being a bit of a bust. It wasn’t fun; it was stressful and a tad depressing. In all honesty, the most fun I had was my class and getting home on Sunday (I convinced my husband to go get ice cream at DQ and it was the highlight of the weekend).
There is no one to blame for a sub-par vacation. The sad reality of taking kids on vacation is that it isn’t a vacation for the parents. It’s full of preparation, stress, scheduling, packing (ENDLESS packing, unpacking, repacking). I packed and unpacked so much, the pack mule title is fitting.
When my husband and I got home and our son took a nap, we finally, FINALLY had a moment of solitude, of peace and quiet to enjoy together. So we relaxed in the back yard, weeding and cleaning up the construction materials from the deck we just built. And that, my friends, was our vacation.
Life of A Mama: Unfiltered 