The Value of Vacations

My family and I recently enjoyed a weeklong, end-of-summer vacation together. The excitement of planning, the preparations, and the task of packing kept us busy right up until our flight left for the lovely Island of Kauai. If you’ve traveled with children you know that although you might be going on what is called a “vacation”, it’s not always exactly relaxing. Instead, it’s just a kind of transfer of location, a different backdrop to living everyday family life. Food needs to be prepared, baths needs to be given, laundry done, etc. It’s still life as usual, it’s just doing it all away from home. Even though this may sound somewhat bleak, it’s not. Just getting away from our daily lives, our routines, our household chores and responsibilities can have a positive impact on the whole family. Even though we can’t escape from our lives all together (wouldn’t that be an ideal holiday?) when we hit the road for a family outing, we can’t help but mix it up a bit. And that can sometimes be a fantastic thing. I consider myself a routine mom. I like schedules and structure in my day-to-day family life; consistent bedtimes and meal times, planning ahead and mapping things out. I know my children thrive on this too. But what was wonderful about our trip was that all of our normal routines were put aside and we lived in the moment, day to day with spontaneity and fresh perspectives. Everything was new and different and we all enjoy it so much. There were no phones to answer, no bills to pay, no vacuuming to do, and no computer. Yes, we had to tend to our daily needs and wants but it was in a whole new environment so it made even the most mundane tasks less of a strain. And when we weren’t busy fixing lunches or packing the car for our many adventures, we spent time reading, swimming in the pool, building sand castles, snorkeling, taking walks, playing games, and just being together. It was not only refreshing for me, it was really special for my kids. I’d venture to guess that if they could articulate what they valued most about our vacation it would be having my full attention, with no distractions. And I’ll admit that even the beautiful, lush landscape paled in comparison to having that kind of time with my children. The conclusion I’ve come to is that it doesn’t have to take a big, far away holiday to take advantage of that kind of family experience. We can allow for smaller moments of that same kind of time together. It just takes some planning and some discipline to carve these family times out. And after the trip we just had, I have vowed to take more mini-vacations more often, even if it’s just to the park or the beach for the day…anything to lift me out of my life of crazed multi-tasking for a while and allow me to just “be” with my family.