You hold your beautiful gold Coach clutch in your hand, and stroak the soft leather surface. It represents dressy outings with girlfriends – you tossing your head back as it dangles off your wrist, complimenting the glass of wine you hold in your opposite hand. Now imagine you take a moment to unzip this fabulous little bag. The bag that has always held your lip gloss, money, ticket stubs, and credit cards. The bag that has always promised epic outings, nights of grown up fun, and stories that you tell a million times afterwards. You unzip the wristlet, and inside you discover…a diaper and a packet of baby wipes as its only contents.
It sounded so romantic at first, frolicking on the beaches of Mexico, my children building sand castles as I lay basking in the sun. Someone bringing me cold beers as my children giggle and take turns thanking me for the best time ever. Days exploring the cruise ship, munching on fine delicacies and sipping on pina coladas while my little ones enjoy hours of fun at the Kids Camp. Like a perfect little Coach clutch, this trip promised fantastic things.
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| This happened – while I was pinned under a crying toddler |
While it was fun, it definitely wasn’t the picture I had painted in my mind. My children didn’t want to go to Kids Camp (and trust me, we tried everything to convince them otherwise), instead opting for 24 hours a day with mommy and daddy. When we arrived at the beach, my toddler didn’t want anything to do with the sand or water, instead opting for a seat on my lap – sun tan? Fuh-get about it. And on the trip home, my toddler threw up in the airport all over me and himself, and neither of us had a change of clothes. When we boarded the plane home, we discovered that the airline had seated us separately from our children, so I rode the entire 3 hour flight with a puke-covered toddler on my lap. Diaper and wipes, my friends.
We were very fortunate to have been treated to a fabulous family getaway. A group of twelve of us travelled to Long Beach, and boarded a Carnival cruise that took us to Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta. A 7-day adventure. It was so wonderful to spend time with my family, to enjoy each other’s company outside of the twice-a-year Christmas dinners and Thanksgiving get togethers that prompted visits in the past.
We did explore the ship and all the ammenities it had to offer. We enjoyed some time on the beach, and even had a photo with dolphins. We enjoyed fine dining every night, and even some evening shows. But woven into those precious moments were drawn-out toddler temper tantrums, mommy meltdowns, and not a moment’s rest.
Travelling with children isn’t a breeze, it isn’t romantic, and it definitely is NOT relaxing. But we had some good clean family fun, and I’m sure we’ve created some special moments that will live in our children’s memories forever.
And the Coach clutch? It was used. While its only contents throughout the trip were a diaper and a package of wipes, it looked fabulous on the outside, and kept the frustrations of motherhood tucked neatly in its interior. Just like the mama who wore it dangling from her wrist, complimenting the toddler hanging onto her opposite arm.
10 Comments
I totally agree. It took me a few trips to learn, but traveling with kids is anything but relaxing and LOTS of fun and craziness.
Welcome home! Sorry that your vacation wasn’t as relaxing as you needed it to be…but I’m sure you made some amazing memories none the less. Try to remember those and forget the puke covered plane ride (my god…what a nightmare!)
Welcome back! Yeah, family vacations require a vacation as soon as you get back – I always plan a buffer day or two after we get back from any trip.
I always say you need a weeks vacation after family vacation. My favorite place to go to for family downtime is Key Largo… we sit by the hotel beach while the kids play in the water all day. It’s great. But like you said you made some wonderful memories. 🙂
I’ve heard someone say holidaying with kids is more like the same-old-same-old with a change of scenery than any kind of actual holiday, in the traditional sense of the word.
a vacation with your children, is often not much of a vacation at all. but in the midst of all the stuff that goes wrong, there all always these golden nuggets to be found and cherished. We used to drive 17 hours away to their grandfather’s camp. not all at once; it took us 3 days to get there! We’d arrive already exhausted. The middle part was always fun…but also tiring and challenging. And then just when we’re almost fed up: drive 3 days home! Yay us. But we survived and the kids somehow have managed to retain fond memories of those trips.
Hey, when you’re holding the baby, you don’t want to suddenly feel wetness coming through on those newly washed clothes. I found it pretty annoying to have to change the diapers, toss the clothes in the laundry, and wash the baby with the other brands, when I should have been playing with the baby. I think honest diapers did a fine job.
I swear vacationing with kids always surprises me with how much work it actually is. They’re completely off schedule and we’re completely at the mercy of their overly exhausted and sensory overloaded selves. I’m glad you survived! Now I need to go out and find me an adorable diaper clutch!
I haven’t flown with my son yet, but we have had the car-sick vacation, which was just lovely. Yes, you have something pretty that makes you feel like a woman again and not just mom, and it always ends up getting puked on or filled with toys. We hang in there, though, don’t we? 🙂
You know you’re a grown up when you replace the makeup in your purse for a diaper. Hello, motherhood!