Spring Break Trip
It came this year in the middle of utter chaos.
We had just moved. We had just acquired two new pets, one of which was a kitten with health issues, yucky ones. One of our older pets died. One of our new pets attacked our bird. My weeks were literally spent hauling one pet to the vet after another, spending tons of money and time in the process. Time I wasn’t able to spend on setting up our new house so that the family could actually find things they needed.
All the while regular life churned on, which meant kid activities and appointments to attend as well. Laundry and dishes piling up. So the thought of a week away from home on a trip, to Maui no less, had as much dread as appeal to it for me. I was WAY behind in life, in every way, and felt like I really needed that week to try and catch – my rear, shall we say.
As I spend more time on this planet, though, I have learned some things. One is how very, very fast your kids grow up. By the teen years, their idea of a vacation isn’t necessarily spending it with the parents. And before you know it, they aren’t even living with you anymore.
Which is why I decided to go. I have bailed on a couple of trips before, but those were only long-weekend ones. The house got clean, for sure, and I enjoyed some quiet time. I’m also aware I missed out on some things. Because when I think about it, a lot of the best memories of my kids’ childhoods are the new things we experienced together on vacations.
Besides, Maui is AWESOME.
Beautiful, with good eats, and some of the best beaches I’ve ever seen, it’s my home away from home, my happy place. And that’s quite the thing, as genetics have determined I will NOT be a sun-lover.
We stay at the same hotel every time we go, the Four Seasons. As I walked the picturesque grounds, I remembered all the other trips taken there, the good family memories. Too quickly in the past for me.
The trip, and Maui in particular, did what it needed for me. It gave me more memories with the family. The eats were tasty. And it was WONDERFUL to take a break from real life.
