To quote Charles Dickens, someone who’s a whole lot better with words than I, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom ….”
Who knew something written so long ago would perfectly describe our recent vacation with our two granddaughters to Chattanooga, Tennessee? There were times of laughter, frustration, and tears — lots and lots of tears — but enough about me.
The Wife and I learned so much from our three days and two nights spent with Little One and Sweet Caroline. I’ve decided to share some of our vacation lessons with the hope they help make your next one easier.
Lesson number one: Let sleeping kids sleep. Though it may seem logical, prudent, and even the best way to beat traffic, don’t, for any reason, load the car up with the kids and try to leave at 3 a.m.
There’s nothing to see out their car windows because it’s pitch dark outside so, logically, they should understand it’s the middle of the night and go back to sleep.
Unfortunately, logic goes out the window with kids on vacation. Once in the car, they’re awake, and no amount of pleading, threatening, or bribery will get excited 5- and 6-year-olds back to sleep.
Lesson number two: Stop at every rest stop even if no one has to go to the bathroom … because they do. Then stop again, and again, and when you think it’s safe and you’re making up for lost time, stop yet again.
Besides, all that stopping allows you to stretch your legs and spend a lot of money at the vending machines buying all the snacks and drinks you forgot to pack because you left so darn early in the morning.
Lesson number three: When traveling with two or more kids, someone is always going to be in a bad mood, even on vacation. “Stop,” “Quit,” “She touched me,” and “It wasn’t me” are just a few of the phrases we heard even before leaving our driveway. Listing all the others screamed, whined, or shared continually during our vacation would exceed my word count!
Lesson number four: Just forget about nap time while on vacation. You’d think after all day climbing around Lookout Mountain and Rock City, winding through the three-story Aquarium, and walking just about everywhere that come 4 p.m., nap time would be obvious.
Nope. Don’t get your hopes up because it’s just not gonna happen. And no amount of pleading on your part will convince them otherwise. And they won’t let you take that much needed nap either.
Instead, you will spend your valuable nap time solving important issues like “Whose turn is it to use the door card to get into the room?” “Whose turn is it to push the elevator button?” “How do we use this TV remote?” and “What happened to the overpriced stuffy you just bought and who lost it?”
Important Reader’s note: Don’t for any reason buy each child a different stuffy. Doing so will only led to infighting later, eventually making you return to the store where you’ll buy not one but two more overpriced stuffies.
Finally, the most important lesson: Take lots of pictures and videos. And when you think you’ve taken enough, take even more. But even as you do, remember to be present.
Because no matter how hard we tried, no picture or video could really capture Little One and Sweet Caroline’s curiosity about everything as they bounded from one exhibit to the next during our three days together.
Little faces smashed against a tank of giant crabs or staring in amazement as Buddy the octopus crawls and slithers around his enclosure, wrapping his eight arms around everything. Their screeching as a shark glides past with a menacing smile just for them. That excitement could only be experienced.
Looking through all the pictures and videos from our trip, lesson one through four above was just a small part of our vacation. I’m sure my three brothers, The Sister, and I did the same things and even more. After all, like our two granddaughters last weekend, we were just kids being kids.
Children on vacation bring vacations to a whole other level of fun. Our last morning in Chattanooga, we let the girls sleep in. When it was time to get them up, I paused a moment looking down at their angelic faces. No picture or video could do that moment in time justice – it just had to be experienced.
As I kissed them awake, I realized our time together is fleeting and that perhaps by taking so many pictures and videos of our vacation that I may have missed really “experiencing” our life together. It’s an important lesson to consider, not just while we are on vacation, but everyday.
Guess as a grandparent I’ve finally reached the age of wisdom.
[Rick Ryckeley has been writing stories since 2001. To read more of Rick’s stories, visit his blog: storiesbyrick.wordpress.com.]
