vacation lessons learned

Vacation is a word not typically in my family's vernacular. With a recent two-hour plane ride to Florida, all that changed, and we were initiated with our first ever family of five vacation! Hubby's eighteen year old daughter was graduating high school, and we all were thrilled to be there to see her walk across the stage and receive her much deserved diploma with the highest honors possible, to boot. Since hubby had a work conference on the other side of the state with perfect timing two days after the graduation, it seemed that the entire sky's worth of stars were aligned to make it an eight-day whole family trip.

Part one of the trip involved staying in an adorable little beach cottage right across the street from the oh-so-aptly named Emerald Coast, and holy cow, I was blown away by the magnificent beach. After the graduation and family party, we loaded the crew into a rented van and drove across the state to the area of the Disney-fied mecca of the east coast, which thankfully did not play a part in our vacation (sorry Mickey, but your peeps are not my fave). Five days in Orlando living the life of luxury continued the mind-blowing experience-- swimming and sliding, splash padding and mini-golfing, lazy rivers and poolside bars. Bonnet Creek Resort, to you I say, "Well done. Well done, indeed."

Vacationing allows for more reflection and pensive moments, and during the week, I had a few realizations:

• I'm a kick ass packer. Thanks to a spreadsheet that a friend shared with me, packing has become an easy chore, even if it is a bit tedious, but this time around introduced the extra challenge of meeting the airline baggage restrictions, which we did with ease. Three checked suitcases for five people for over a week? Woo-hoo! It helped to know that we'd have laundry facilities at our disposal for the duration of the trip, too!

• My kids are troopers. It may have only been a two hour flight, but we still had to leave on the early side in the morning, and after a car ride, waiting for daddy to return from long-term parking, waiting to check-in, waiting to go through security, waiting for the flight, sitting still on the plane, waiting for our luggage, waiting for a rental car, and then driving for another 45 minutes to our cottage... we weren't settled in until the evening, and there was only a minimal amount of whining! When you consider that all this travel involved only a short 15 minute nap on Pudge's part, this is a remarkable achievement.

• I can submerge myself in the ocean. I'm usually not one to dip more than a toe or two into any body of water that's not a clean and chlorinated pool, but the water in Destin was so amazingly clear that I lay back and floated my way to relaxation on the first full day at the beach. Letting the small waves gently rock me while I closed my eyes and blocked out the rest of the world was the most peaceful ten minutes I've had in a very long time. Seriously- look at that picture. Can you believe that's not pool water?

• Family is what you make it. In what could only be described as an "unconventional" situation, we found ourselves warmly welcomed and enveloped into this family, and we all felt so lovingly included. My stepdaughter's mother and aunt even volunteered to babysit our wacky crew so that hubby and I could have an adult night out for our anniversary. (They even talked to us after we returned really, really late!) Good people, I tell you.

• Complete strangers can sometimes tell you the exactly what you need to hear. As the kids and I were floating along in one of the resort's lazy rivers, Red was being her usual extra-volume self. I was asking her to quiet down, explaining that people float in tubes in the lazy river so they can relax. A nearby vacationer overheard me and laughingly told me not to worry about it. She said something to the effect of, "Let her be loud. She's having a great time!" Because she said it in a friendly way, I was able to actually receive it and not feel judged, which was just what I needed. Red continued to squeal and have a grand time and I could let go, too.

• In addition to her ability to be louder than your average five year old, Red has progressed from "I can put my face in the water!" to submerging her entire body underwater for twenty seconds at a time! She's still working on coordinating her arm and leg movements to actually propel herself in the water, but she's just so comfortable and unafraid that it makes me happy just to watch her. This summer's pool visits are going to be fun!  

• I don't know if it just comes with the territory of being a third child, but Pudge has a flexibility and ability to "roll with it" that isn't found among many members of our family. Watching him roll his little carry-on through the airport, a completely unfamiliar experience, he looked like a seasoned traveler, and I was struck by how often he's able to adapt. In the two places where we stayed, he instantly made himself at home. 

• There's a big difference between almost 11, and 5 and 3. More often now, JAM is expressing his need for time with his dad to do "big kid" things. I'm happy that this trip allowed for a few times when they could go off on their own and make their own special memories. One night, this brought about JAM's first ever go-cart driving experience! With his free-range habits already in place, he was comfortable going to an event on his own while I stayed in the suite with the napping kids, and heading off on his own around the resort a few times, too. Big kids rock! 

• Spending time with my kids is just plain fun- they're funny and they certainly try to have the best time ever, everywhere we go. With four pools, two lazy rivers, two water slides and a splash pad area with a kiddie pool, as well as a mini-golf course, we never had to leave the resort for fun times. While hubby spent the days at his conference, the kids and I had the sinfully luxurious sole responsibility of figuring out where to spend our morning hours until lunch/nap time called us back to the suite. At wake up time, we did it all over again. I enjoyed simply hanging out with these three individuals who make me smile (when they're not driving me crazy!). 

• Even though I may feel eighteen in my mind, celebrating our 13th anniversary certainly drove home the fact that we're not as young as we used to be. The same can be said for spending time with a young couple at the beginning of their relationship, as I became filled with wistful memories of being oh-so-young. How is it that we're on the other side of the table now?! We had a lovely evening with hubby's daughter and her boyfriend, who treated us to an anniversary dinner of deliciousness at The Melting Pot!

Vacation may not be a regularly used word for our famly, but it was nice to get a taste of it for a few days.Transitioning back to our "regular home" (as Pudge kept calling it while we were away) has been challenging, especially seeing as it took me four days to get the last suitcases unpacked, but we're back to reality. Not sure when something like this will be able to happen again, but it was pretty sweet while it lasted.

Five relaxed and happy faces.

New vacation junkie,