Earlier in the week I wrote an article about Tokyo on my blog and my initial reaction to my best friend’s AMAZING holiday to Japan with her boyfriend. She got back on Sunday so on Monday morning I got to hear all about it. Jealous was NOT the word!
But then jealously quickly turned onto realisation. A realisation that I’m a mum now so I can’t have that kind of holiday anymore. Or can I?
By the end of the article I had realised that it was me holding myself back, not my kids! A mixture of fear and laziness: “Travelling with kids is too much hassle”; or “what if something happened to one of them while we were away?” Etc.
In my defence, we flew to Egypt over the Christmas period with Reuben (then 17 months) and Gabriella (7) and it was one of the worst experiences of my life (probably an exaggeration). Reuben screamed for most of both 5-hour flights and there was nowhere to go. BUT, what’s 10 hours in the grand scheme of things? Plus, surely the more you do it, the easier it will get? And, when they get to Gabriella’s age, all it takes is an iPad with 5 movies on!
I did a lot of travelling when I was younger during my studies and then once I was working. I loved it and I had forgotten! I’d forgotten who I was and what I loved to do. I used to spend hours planning where to go and what to do, now I let other people plan my holidays! Sometimes I don’t even know where we were. That is shameful!
After many a holiday incorporating the words “all inclusive” and “kids disco” I have been quietly thinking about travelling with the kids. While I always have a nice and relaxing time, I eat too much, I rarely venture out of the hotel and Mike and I get zero adult time, thanks to the late hours all the kids keep!
I would love to go to India with them or explore Morocco perhaps. But I’m scared now! I’m scared something might happen to them. We could have all gone to Kenya with Mike recently but I didn’t want to risk taking Reuben while he was still so little. We had also thought about going to see my brother in Japan this spring but that fell by the wayside. Who wants to spend 12 hours plus on a plane with a 20 month old? Not I!
But hello? Life is short. And carpe diem appears to have died in me!
After reading lots of lovely comments from friends and new internet friends who have also been thinking the same, I think we’ve all resolved to try better to seize the day and this is why:
- The thought of it is almost certainly worse than the reality;
- Exploring the world will teach your kids things they could never learn in school and give them lasting memories; and
- Kids can and do surprise us!
I’m starting small with a daytrip on the train to York next week (it’s the school holidays), and then I’m going to do some proper research for our holiday in August. We’re planning to go to Portugal and I want to DO something while we’re there!
Do you travel with your children? How do you make it work? Or like me have you slipped into lazy fear?
Any recommendations are very welcome!
About Hannah Parker
Hannah is an ex-city girl turned wife, mum and step-mum living in a North East seaside town with a bad reputation. Hannah has been blogging for 2 years at Mums’ Days, where she documents her triumphs and tragedies of daily life trying to be a good mum. She has recently started a Directory of Giving Birth with over 30 stories all donated by members of the Mums’ Days community on Facebook. She will be carrying the baton in the TeamHonk relay from Newcastle to Alnwick in March!
- Web |
- More Posts(4)
Izzie Anderton
Sunday 1st of June 2014
I've always travelled with my twin daughters and learnt to become more adventurous with each passing year. I think that being super organised is essential before heading off, but after arriving we've learnt to go wherever the holiday takes us and have fun. They're both grown up now, away at uni and have developed a definite wonderlust for travel all by themselves.