Thinking about our vacation......

It was a cold, rainy day in Georgia as I folded laundry, but there was a spark in my eye because we were going on vacation to sunny Florida! I had been planning and scheming for months about what I needed to bring, what sunblock would be most effective, and how cute my kids were going to look in their new bathing suits. Now that I look back in hindsight to the amount of anticipation and eager preparation involved before the trip, I realized that every time my husband and I take a vacation with the kids we are lulled into a false sense of excitement. Even though every single vacation with our offspring drains not only our wallet, but our energy, I am almost delirious with the daydreams of all of us skipping on the beach, enjoying the pool with perfect weather, going to Disney World with no crowds, and dining at wonderful restaurants with well-rested kids, then reading them a story and tucking them into bed early so we can have a glass of wine on the veranda. What happens in actuality is the most trying time of our lives. Mickey mouse seems to want us to take a second mortgage on our home. The pool is great, but it is very hot and the baby has no nap so later he is a mess. Disney is insanely crowded because everyone else in Georgia had the same dreams of vacation bliss that we did. We skip the restaurant because we are too tired and eat cereal instead. We put our kids to bed without brushing their teeth because they were exhausted to the point of insanity. And every morning they still woke up at 6:30am even though they were up late the night before. I looked at my husband at one point and thought, why are we doing this? Well, the answer is because our kids had the time of their lives. They didn't know that Disney world costs $68 per ticket per day and they didn't care. The look on my daughters face when she saw Cinderellas castle was priceless! They swam in the pool until their skin was wrinkled and their eyes were bloodshot. They got to drink cokes and eat ice cream and other junk until I could just see the sugar flowing in their veins! They had no bedtime and watched cartoons until they fell asleep. They made crafts, rode roller coasters and saw the fireworks show. So why do we go through all this as a parent? Because we love our little chickens and we are creating memories that will last them a lifetime!