This weekend my parents flew down from South Carolina to spend the weekend with us in Orlando. It was a little bit like Groundhog Day because we stayed in the same hotel where we stayed a few weeks ago, and we were going to the same parks that we had visited as well.
For some reason, I felt this immense pressure to make sure that my parents had a good time. This was their first trip to Disney World in 16 years and their first trip with grandchildren.
I could not get my act together the entire weekend. I constantly felt like I was unorganized, chaotic, and out of flux. Not a good feeling for me.
On top of all this, Lil' B was more fussy this time in the parks and also was not sleeping as well as she did during our first trip. She screamed bloody murder every time we tried to lay her down in her portable crib. One or the other of us ended up rocking her to sleep each night and she ended up sleeping in our bed twice...a big no-no for me at this age.
The last day of our trip we decided to visit Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. My mom and I are huge Harry Potter nerds fans, so we wanted to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of the park. We let the kids play with the men in Seussland while Mom and I drank our Butterbeers and waited in line to ride our rides.
And I felt guilty the whole time. I felt like I had abandoned my husband and children just to do something that I wanted to do. We hurried back to the group as soon as we had finished, but I still felt bad.
We didn't spend long at Universal because there just isn't much for the little ones to do there, so we headed back to the hotel to pack up for home. As soon as we got back to the hotel, I discovered that my purse was missing. I panicked. I knew exactly where I had left it: in a restroom stall in Seussland.
My heart raced thinking about everything I had lost: my id's, credit and ATM cards, money. I wanted to cry just thinking about it. How could I have been so stupid?
We managed to call Lost and Found at Universal, and wonder of wonders, someone had found my purse and turned it in with everything still in it. I absolutely could not believe it. The rest of the afternoon was a blur, but it involved packing up our hotel room, going back to Universal to pick up my purse, and then listening to Miss H ask "are we there yet?" all the way home.
Now that we are home, unpacked, and settled, I still feel like I can't get back on track. I woke up tired and have been in a foul mood all day. Lil' B did sleep in her bed all night, but she has been out of sorts today too. I am actually starting to think that she may be sick.
And so I sit here at the computer, trying to decompress a little and I am contemplating why we bother going on vacation with small children. Will they even remember the fun that we had? Is all the lack of sleep worth it? Do they even appreciate what we do to try to show them a good time? Why do I beat myself up so badly? Why can't I cut myself a break and just relax and have fun?
These are the questions that are swirling around in my brain right now. I'm sorry if this has been a rambling random stream of consciousness post, but that's just where I am right now. I hope you all had a great weekend and are starting this week off on the right foot!
8 comments:
I absolutely get where you are coming from.
we have always traveled - and with two sets of children (meaning eight years between the 2 oldest and the two youngest), it seemed as soon as we got out of the 'little ones/no fun' stage, we were back in it.
but, in 2001 we realized it was totally worth it. the youngest (at the time) was still in diapers, but we headed to NYC ... saw the sights we wanted to see - took pics of the statue of liberty and the twin towers ... YES, the WTC ... exactly two weeks before they fell! and I have pictures of the 3 kids - the older two trying to get the baby to stop crying long enough to smile for the picture. I was thinking, 'this is a waste! no one will even care' and now I know why it mattered that year - I have a piece of history ... crying toddler and all.
and as far as feeling frazzled? I thought that was a mommy norm for traveling. I figured it was payback for me being allowed to stay home with the kids - that I had to work SO HARD when we vacation - lol!
glad you got your purse back :)
My dear, I have asked myself ALL those questions, repeatedly, about travel with kids. I feel like we're almost reaching an age with Maddie that it will be worth it.
Vacations are never restful for the mom. All of our work just travels with us!
Vacations are always stressful with little kids! I wish you could have enjoyed your time in Harry Potter World more, though. the kids were having fun, too.
Maybe it was the fact it was such a quick turnaround for you this time. The kids needed a little home time maybe, and perhaps you did too.
SO glad you found your purse!!!
Stopping by from SITS. I totally understand the whole "Is it worth it?" thing. But, I think most of the time it is. Kids tend to remember mostly the good stuff about vacations and how fun it was.
Popped in from SITS! I'm sure this will be such a happy memory for them, even if you need a vacation from vacation!
I think traveling with small kids is tough. (I have 5... though not so small any more.) The trick is to keep things simple when they are young and make sure you also plan time for you and your hubby alone. I know you love your kids, but he's the one who will still be there when they're older and doing their own thing.
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