Vacation

Vacation
Noun
An extended period of recreation, esp. one spent away from home or in traveling.

Two weeks ago today, I was on the second day of our first real family vacation. A week spent with friends in one of the most beautiful places in the world...Yosemite. And two weeks ago today, I sat on the banks of the Merced River...and cried.

I was crying because camping with an 18 month old is hard. (Duh?). "Vacation isn't supposed to be hard", I kept whining to myself. But this was our vacation. And it was hard.

It wasn't hard because PB acted any different. He was the same sweet, playful boy he always is, occasional meltdowns included. It wasn't hard because the Hub and I were doing it alone. We had several amazing friends there helping...a lot. It wasn't hard because it was any different than the numerous blogs and websites I'd read beforehand told me it would be.

It was hard because it was different than camping used to be when it was just the Hub and me with our friends. I'm not gonna lie and say I had any epiphany a couple days in and meshed with the rest of the trip. I prayed and meditated on my bad attitude throughout the trip and only had the epiphany after returning home and rehashing the week with my BFF.

She wisely told me that things like this require an adjustment in expectations. She is so right. I am finding that advice is so useful in so many areas of my life.

I wish I had come to that understanding during my trip. Had I understood sooner that just because things are different doesn't make them worse, I would have spent a lot less time whining to myself (and who am I kidding...to others). Maybe I would have had the "religious experience" I've had on all my previous trips to Yosemite.

I can, however, say that the week was not a total loss to my sour mood. I made some amazing memories with my precious family and my dear, dear friends. Memories I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. And of course, I learned a valuable life lesson.

I am so glad we went and that we took PB. We love camping and hope to do it often with our children Yes, even again at this tender age. I learned what works and what doesn't and what to do for next time. Because there WILL be a next time.

So if I may offer some advice...when something gets you down because it is not what you expected, change your expectations. I promise, you will come out better on the other side.