Vacation Fun

As a mom, vacation has a completely different meaning than it once did. Once upon a time it meant relaxation, no responsibilities, an escape from the monotony of everyday life and a bit of freedom and fun.

I’m not sure any of those things describe my family vacations now that I have kids. Relaxation? Um no, I have a two year old. And a nine year old who is suffering from “middle child, nobody wants to hang with me” syndrome. And then there is the teenager and his girlfriend, and we won’t go in to the paranoia that comes along with that.

That covers the whole ‘no responsibility’ thing too.

An escape from the everyday monotony? Did I mention I have a two year old? Schedules and routine do not change just because we aren’t home. You do NOT screw with nap time if you want to keep sane.

Freedom? Did I mention the two year old?

But fun … does fun come in to play here? I guess that depends on how you look at it. Fun when I was a kid, or even before I had kids of my own, was much more wild and crazy, much more cleansing and freeing. It did not consist of doing dishes for six people, cleaning up after the toddling princess, arguing with the nine year old and giving relationship advice to the teenager.

Now that I AM a mom, I have altered my definition of fun (though wild and crazy has its place). Now fun consists of playing Wii for three hours with the middle child (he kicked my butt at tennis, but I rule at bowling … and that snowboarding games is kind of fun too). It consists of watching the two year old as she belly laughs while twirling around in circles. And it consists of watching the teenager smile, laugh and interact with his siblings and the rest of us like he actually likes us.

Good times. But now I need my own vacation.