Ten years ago last month I went on the trip of a lifetime. Just me, my husband, my father-in-law, and my sister-in-law. We spent two weeks exploring parts of three different countries — Canada (Niagara and Toronto), Norway (Bergen and places north), and the Netherlands (Amsterdam and one train ride south).
I love to scrapbook, but never have much time for it. I’ve given up on creating baby books for my kids, but whenever I have the chance for an overnighter crafting event, I bring along my book from this trip to work on.
Last month as we crossed the 10-year mark since this trip, I was hit with huge waves of jealousy and “I wish…”. That trip happened before my FIL remarried (bringing three new step-siblings), before my SIL married, and before our own kids. Traveling was easy, and I’d been bitten by the bug.
We’ve since taken one extended-family vacation to the Caribbean (with 10 adults and 4 kids) and have another coming next winter. But my husband and I haven’t yet attempted to plan any sort of trip with just us and our kids.
We have our excuses… Traveling costs money and our budget is tight. A trip with young kids is anything but a relaxing vacation.
So convince me: why is vacation important, and how do we do it with an 8, 6, and 1 year old (or do we just wait till they’re older)?
Five Minute Friday is a weekly opportunity to simply write about one word for five minutes flat, and link-up what you’ve written, to connect with other writers.
Carrie, vacation looks different during this season, but never stop! Maybe it’s just a night or two just a few hours (or a hour) from home or a camping trip nearby. But breaking away from the patterns & ToDo lists at home (especially now that you stay-at-home) is SO important. The girls won’t remember where or how long, but just that time AWAY together.
Don’t feel the need for high end or high cost, find inexpensive alternatives (a friends cabin or something mid-week or not eating out.)
That may leave budget for bigger or longer trips when the girls are older😊
You make up your mind that going somewhere different will bre good for all of you, then you save and save and GO!
When our kids were little we mostly did long weekend vacations (2 nights in a hotel) because that was all we could afford. That meant we needed to find a hotel with a fridge where we wanted to go. We would take most of our food with us, but for one dinner, and luncheon he way home again, we would eat out. That eating out part was a vacation for me as the mom!
We travel a lot — mainly in the past because we lived across the country from the grandparents and flew to visit them often.
But we have also tagged along on Jay’s research trips and gone to visit friends in various states.
It’s so worth it. But I completely get the expense of it being an issue, because it is for us too.
I recommend reasonably distanced road trips (so gas and food on the road aren’t too expensive) and then staying with friends or staying in their empty house and house-sitting (like we just did in California:)
If you ever want to vacation on this side of the state, shoot me a message — I have some ideas for you for activities and housing:)
I always loved travel when I was younger because I was blissfully unaware of the cost 😉 My mom had a tight budget when we were young too, but she carved out special time for just us. We went camping a state parks (we loved Wabasis Lake, actually!) in pop-ups and tents we borrowed and roasted “hobo pies” around the campfire. It wasn’t without cost, I’m sure, but it also wasn’t any less fun just because it was at the lower end of the vacation budget.
And, you’re always welcome to come visit family that live near cool cities! You could spend one night in a hotel for a treat and one night with the relatives camped out on their couch (or stay the whole weekend, you’re always welcome). Summertime is especially great here because there are so many free festivals that make for an inexpensive adventure.