Redefine Relaxing Vacation

This morning the alarm went off for the first time in nine days. It was a wake up call…vacation is over. Time to come back to reality. And even though we have been back for a couple of days, it has been slow in getting back into our normal life.

After last year’s trip, one might think we didn’t stand a chance at actually having a relaxing vacation. This vacation, however, I was so determined for it to be a vacation for me that it really was. The reason our vacation actually felt like a vacation was probably because my standards have drastically evolved.

I now embrace the fact that laying out on the beach doesn’t mean that I have a book or a cocktail in hand.

And burying your child in the sand means that they sit still for a solid five minutes! It makes it totally worth the buckets of sand you have to clean up in the house when they take off their swim suit!

Never again is it possible to pack lightly (even for a couple hours at the beach) so don’t expect it. I will forever have my hands full of bags, snacks, toys and children. So I’m just going to embrace it rather than think it will ever change!

The agonizing hours of trying to get crazy kids through outlets for their fall wardrobe is totally worth it because the hours of entertainment a fashion show can bring after!!!

But having some downtime in our normally “oh so chaotic” life was worth every sleepless moment, every food argument and every behavioral challenge.

And the best part is that I think Drew, at the least, is going to walk away with some actual memories from this. His memories are not going to be how none of us slept the first night or that Gabby virtually didn’t eat for the first few days or the horrible traffic on our way home. Rather he’s going to remember playing baseball in the huge field out back. He’s going to remember playing with his sister at the beach. And he’s going to remember the fun family dinners filled with silliness, bowling during the rainy days and movie nights. And so am I 🙂