Vacation

There’s vacation with children and there’s vacation without children – they mean two entirely different things.  Vacation with children is more about making sure you build memories with family and with your children.  Vacation without children is about relaxing, kicking back, and feeling as if you don’t have a worry in the world.

Obviously, our vacations are of the first type.  Don’t get me wrong though.  I love that we go on vacation once a year with hubby’s family.  To a degree, it is relaxing to be around family.  It’s just that with the kids, it’s so different than in the years before the children.

As a mom, I worry someone is about to drown.  And let me tell you, on day three of this vacation this has already proven to be a valid worry - Männchen fell into the deep end of the pool head first while trying to fill up a squirt toy, Töchterchen wandered off (past a pool and into a parking lot) when I thought she was with another family member, and she has had her feet knocked out from under her multiple times while on her fearless treks into the ocean.

I also worry about bedtime.  We are staying in a three story beach house and the kids are on the middle level, with doors to the deck from their room.  I have made sure noisy locks are in place on the doors, but here I sit in the hallway for the fourth night in a row, ears on alert and on guard in a way only a mother can be.

Yet, I know deep down it’s worth it.  We’ll put in these “hard” years of vacation, but before I know it, it will be vacation again for all of us.  The kids will know how to swim.  They will be able to put themselves to bed and I won’t have to worry about them wandering into places they shouldn’t. 

 And until then, we will do our best to build memories they will cherish, even though as a mama I will know it was a hell of a lot of work.