Visiting family overseas, Disney or Six Flags, the question always seems to be the same. Are we there yet? As parents we plan our vacations in hopes that they look and feel as those we see in travel ads. Everyone is smiling, the children are spotless and the food resembles dishes we have seen on the Food Network or better. Then reality sets in.
You get to the airport or seventy miles into that five hour drive only to realize you forgot your child’s favorite stuffed animal. So for the next three hours plus, your favorite CD will now be a distant background noise to the sound of incessant crying. That beautiful new outfit you bought so that your child will make an impression on grandma because you haven’t seen each other in two years is now stained with fruit punch. Oh and by the way, the restaurant that you planned to stop at with the five star rating doesn’t have a children’s menu and seafood isn’t a fav of your child’s. So what happened? Why are we torturing ourselves? Whose idea was it to go on vacation anyway? Sound familiar?
The front porch, lemonade, fireflies, the Mister Softee song, getting wet with the garden hose, a picnic on your lawn, bare feet, cloud shapes and the smell of rain on the black top – any of this sounding familiar? How big is the smile on your face right now? It’s all about memories. It’s not the location or the money spent it is the amount of quality time that you share with your child. Summer gives you the opportunity to break free from the rigid schedule of the school year so take advantage of those times. They go by so very quickly. Take the opportunity to go “back to basics”. When the school year begins, you and your child will be able to face it in a relaxed, rejuvenated state of mind. An extra added bonus – those memories that brought a smile to your face will then be the very same ones your child will recognize the importance of and pass on with that very same smile on his or her face.
