the un-vacation: traveling with small kids

This past week we took the plunge and took the kids to an all inclusive family resort in Jamaica.

As a child, vacation is a time to run around, play all day, eat a lot of sugar and stay up late.

As a parent, vacation is a time to relax, find some serenity and catch up on your sleep.

Clearly these two things do not fit well together, especially if as a parent you actually bring your kids on vacation with you.

We need to find another word for these type of trips. It's not torture, but its not necessarily relaxing either. You sleep sometimes, but not a lot. You eat, but often shoving food in your face as you run after an errant child. Serenity finds you in that brief moment at 2 am when you have to pee and everyone else is asleep.

So, at some point, for us it was the 3rd or 4th day, you have to let go of your ideas of the vacation and realize what it is....an extended play date with your kids. Which is a rare opportunity when you have two working parents. Revel in the joy of the kid as she walks around with ice cream dripping down her face, her bathing suit and some of it lands on her feet. Find serenity in spending an evening in bed with your husband, watching TV as the kids sleep next to you (and you take turns running down to the bar).

Then, on your way back home, talk about your vacation plans -- your real vacation -- the one where the kids stay with grandma and grandpa and you can stay up late, eat lots of sugar and play all day....