Don't Forget To Plan The Family Vacation

By Maria Johnson, Apple Valley Campus

As I finally begin packing for our upcoming trip, I ponder the impact of the “family vacation.”  Growing up, my dad was a school teacher and my mom stayed home.  Thus, we had little money to spare.  However, every summer the six of us would pile into our station wagon for a family vacation somewhere.  Those trips were never fancy--we’d find the least expensive motel options (& take turns sleeping on the floor), and we would rarely eat “out” but instead go to a local grocery store--yet, those vacations are some of my very favorite memories growing up with my family!

Today, I’ve read that many people no longer take an entire week off at one time.   Several don’t even use up all their vacation time.  Conflicts with jobs, kid’s sports, multiple other activities/commitments, or demands at home have made it more difficult for families to take a week for a family vacation.  I find this very sad.

Not only has it been found to be physically healthy for an individual to take extended days away from the stress of their work, it is incredibly beneficial for the health of the family.  My husband loves spending time with our children.  However, his job is demanding and can take him away from us more than we wish.  He truly cherishes the uninterrupted time he gets with our kids when we get away (thus, this is why we have rarely vacationed with another family).  I am thankful to get an enormous amount of time with our kids but I recognize my “Martha” personally, so it’s good to get me away from our home to simply play and explore with our kids and my husband too!

Vacations are not without a cost.  In everything, though, we must decide and plan our priorities with how we spend our time and money.  Parents spend hundreds, if not thousands, on sports, activities, or tournaments/camps for their children every year.  They deem that these activities will build teamwork & character into their kids.  Now don’t get me wrong, I agree that sports and other extracurricular activities can be very valuable to children, but they must be kept in balance.  And, really, the very best place to learn to be a team player is within one’s own family.  Our kids are only young once, so we want to spend time with them now to build moral character into them before they leave our home.  We also know they will remember our family vacations much more than any sports practice or activity out there.

It’s an adventure is key to remember for the family vacation.  We have never aimed for perfection in a trip which is a good thing because we’ve never come close.  We have had kids cry or crabby due to lack of food/water or physically tired (yes, we have pushed our kids too far at times for hikes, etc.--we have learned!).  We have had “chaffing” issues due to hiking in wet swimsuits (we’ve learned here too--bring dry clothes & my husband knows to never spray sunscreen on a boy’s irritated private area again!).  We’ve also dealt with puking & sick kids a variety of times.  What a great opportunity it has been to train our children in the area of self-control with handling themselves and their emotions and how they treat each other.  These are all areas they have grown from (ok, my husband and I have too!), and we giggle about them now!

The family vacation is imperative for the health of the family.  In this crazy busy country we live in, we need to slow down to make time for and budget for it.  Our job can survive without us for a week.  Our kids can miss a week of practices or games.  They can miss one camp to allow money to be spent for the overall family.  Kids will appreciate it all the more when they are part of the planning and saving for a vacation together with their family.   Children may forget the uncountable times we drove them to practices/activities or the new gadgets or equipment/clothes they got, but they will remember different points of God’s creation that they have seen and who they were with (photos really help this too!).   It’s about building memories and character with our children.  The family vacation, regardless of where you go, is an incredible tool for this.  Plan for an adventure with your family now--you will not regret it!

Enjoy & explore!