Travel can be expensive, time-consuming, and stressful. So why do people bother doing it? There is something magical about getting away from everything and embracing the unknown. The following are 10 things that I notice happen when we are on vacation:
1. CELL PHONES LOSE IMPORTANCE. I hate to admit it but when I’m home I can be pretty glued to my cellphone. I am constantly checking emails and getting online to research different topics. However, on vacation I can care less where my phone is! Sometimes I even go days without taking it out of my purse and it is the best feeling to be in the moment with my family.
2. VIDEO GAMES DISAPPEAR. Since the kids bring several electronics with them on vacation to play with on the plane, I expect they will play with them throughout the trip. This rarely happens. On some trips, it never comes out of their suitcase. There are so many new things to discover that our kids would rather go out to the beach to look for shells or build a sandcastle that electronics lose their interest.
3. KIDS BECOME BEST FRIENDS. My girls get along really well anyways, but on vacation they become inseparable. They spend the days coming up with new games and laughing together until their bellies hurt. It melts my heart.
4. EVERYONE BECOMES MORE ADVENTUROUS. Want to feed a bear out of the palm of your hand? Sure. Want to swim in a cave? Sure. Want to swim with huge stingrays in the wild? Sure. Vacations provide a ‘you only live once’ mentality and we embrace it. It also helps us develop skills we never knew we had.
5. CURIOSITY CREEPS IN. My girls are genuinely interested in the castles and palaces we bring them to on vacations. They ask questions about the art we’re looking at in museums. They observe the people in town and wonder what life is like for them. When you realize someone else’s life is completely different from your own you want to see the world through their eyes.
6. TIME? WHAT’S TIME? On vacation, we spend half of our time on planned activities and the other half doing whatever we feel like. We sleep in, stay up late, eat dinner at 9:00, go for a night swim, and have a cocktail before noon. Time doesn’t determine what we do.
7. SIMPLE PLEASURES TAKE CENTER STAGE. Often the best memories we have from trips are of doing simple activities as a family. We can spend hours at a tide pool or all come together to build the perfect sandcastle.
8. LANGUAGE DOESN’T MATTER. Once, in Portugal, my mother-in-law and I took the girls to a local park. We watched as my kids had had much fun playing with another little girl. When they finally came back to us we asked if she spoke English and they said, “Nope. She only spoke Portuguese and we had no clue what she was saying.” Yet they had great fun playing together!
9. HONEYMOON TIME. Maybe it’s because we are away from the stress, or perhaps it is the beautiful setting, but there is something romantic being away from home with your spouse. It allows you to reconnect and focus on each other.
10. YOU APPRECIATE HOME. Before I leave for a trip every little thing bothers me and I am counting down the days to being away from it all. But at some point I start to miss it all and look forward to being home in my own bed, snuggling with my dog, and seeing my friends. I even start to miss cooking my own food. Nothing makes you miss home more than leaving it.