Happy Summer Everyone! Ok, so I know that summer doesn't officially begin until June 21, but Memorial Day is widely regarded as the kick-off to summer vacation,so here we are. This week is the last week of school for my stepkids and we will be heading to the East Coast next week.
This trip is actually my family reunion (for my mother's side), and it will be the first "big" trip since both the kids became teenagers. Pray for us all!! Hahaha... But seriously, I'm sure it will be a bit different from the last trip back east that we took when the kids were about 5 & 6 years old. They didn't have cell phones, ipods, or "attitudes" back then. Ahhhh...the good ol' days:)
Nevertheless, I'm really looking forward to our vacation. One reason for my positive outlook is the knowledge that I do not have unrealistic expectations. The trips we took when the kids were little demanded togetherness. They needed our help doing basic things and they didn't think I was "meddling" or lecturing if I assisted or gave instructions.
It's obvious now, however, that my stepkids are more independent and likely to prefer setting their own agendas. And although my inner-mommy mourns the loss of opportunity to nurture, I realize that I have the freedom to enjoy more R&R, as well as quality chit-chat time with relatives I don't get to see very often.
I am also looking forward to seeing my husband enjoy some quality-time with the kids. He and I get a healthy dose of "couple-time", but it isn't very often that he gets more than 24 hours with them during their visits. And when you factor in sleep, meals, TV, and all the time they spend texting their friends, it's actually much less. I sincerely hope that the three of them make good use of this beach vacation.
I know I'm going to!!
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