The purpose of family vacations is to strengthen relationships. It’s not to see the world, check off items on your bucket list, or complete additional certification. The purpose of family vacations is to strengthen relationships. Sometimes I forget this. Sometimes I think the purpose of the hike is to get to the top–regardless of who is tired or complaining. Or the purpose of being at Disney World is to ride all the rides and stay as late as possible–even though the kids are falling apart. Or the purpose of going to a museum is to actually see the exhibits rather than stay in the children’s area. But as much as I don’t like to admit it, when I think that way, I am wrong. The purpose of the hike is to strengthen relationships–regardless of how far up the mountain we climb. The purpose of going to Disney World is to strengthen relationships. The purpose of going to the museum is to strengthen relationships.
Take a break
It doesn’t matter what stage of life you are in; you are busy and tired. We fill our lives so full of good things that we are all exhausted. Family vacations allow you to step away from the stress and take a break. The problem with our digital world, however, is that taking a break does not automatically come from changing physical locations. Taking a break requires intentional decisions to turn off the cell phone, close the computer, and allow your body to begin to decompress.
Before I had kids, I thought I would be a fun parent. I assumed fun family moments would be spontaneous and frequent. But then life got in the way, and day-to-day family life came with responsibilities and requirements that, as the mom, I had to enforce. Instead of being a fun mom, I am often a nagging mom. “Pick up your clothes.” “Put your dishes away.” “No, you can’t have another cookie; it’s 9:00 and past your bedtime!” Family vacations allow you to step away from your role as the nagging, responsible parent and create fun experiences together.
Certain traditions accompany our family vacations that would never fly in our home. On vacation, I buy Lucky Charms, chocolate Twizzlers, and E.L. Fudge cookies. The kids routinely stay up late, and I work hard to say YES as often as possible. On your next family vacation, give yourself permission to stop nagging and fretting and have more fun. Create traditions that break all the rules of day-to-day family life in your home.
Have fun
Before I had kids, I thought I would be a fun parent. I assumed fun family moments would be spontaneous and frequent. But then life got in the way and day to day family life came with responsibilities and requirements that, as the mom, I had to enforce. Instead of being a fun mom, I am often a nagging mom. “Pick up your clothes.” “Put your dishes away.” “No, you can’t have another cookie, it’s 9:00 and past your bedtime!” Family vacations allow you to step away from your role as nagging, responsible parent, and create fun experiences together. There are certain traditions that accompany our family vacations that would never fly in our home. I buy Lucky Charms, chocolate Twizzlers, and E.L. Fudge cookies. The kids routinely stay up late, and I work hard to say YES as often as possible. On your next family vacation, give yourself permission to stop nagging and fretting and have more fun. Create traditions that break all the rules of day-to-day family life in your home.
Build memories
One night at dinner, our children started talking about our family vacation to Disney World. As they talked about how fun each ride was and how they couldn’t wait to return, I looked at my husband and asked, “Were we on the same vacation with them? I remember a lot of crying in line and lying on the ground complaining it was too hot to keep moving.” There’s something remarkable and beautiful about the fact that children often look back on family vacations and remember the good and forget the bad. Don’t worry about everything being perfect. Hang on to the good, strong memories. Take pictures and review them often together so those memories really can last a lifetime.
What are some of your favorite family vacation traditions or memories?
Take some time this week to ask the kids where they want to go on vacation next and start the ball rolling to make that happen.
