Last week I took my kids on a short vacation to Ocean City, Maryland.
My children look forward to this tradition every year and we have been going since they were babies. It’s my one trip where I take the kids alone; meaning no boyfriend or other moms. However, the townhouse we stay in has my best girlfriend and her son as our neighbors. Also another girlfriend and her kids are just a few houses away. Our decks face the bay and the kids can play between the houses while the moms can have some “mommy” time too! It’s the best of both worlds. I did my podcast last week with the moms
who own the other townhomes! Let me take this time to thank Becky, Jennifer, and Megan for doing the podcast and wearing my Mommy’s Guide to Happy Hour t-shirts! It was so much fun having the four of us collaborate and I hope everyone that listened enjoyed it!
Okay, back to the vacation. Now this seems to happen most of the time
we go down there, but it always falls around Shark week on the Discovery channel. Which I personally can’t get enough of, but I don’t want to watch it when I’m at the beach with my kids. One of my favorite movies is Jaws. Now that my kids swim out in the ocean alone and ride their boogie boards, I can see the little Kempner boy getting eaten on his raft in the first movie. I try very hard not to helicopter my kids while they are out there, but that thought is always on my mind. We sit right next to the lifeguard stand, so our kids are always front and center. However, that lingering thought is always there for me. My children beg me every year to watch Jaws, but with them just turning 10 and 8 they still aren’t ready. I want them to enjoy their time in the water. I’m
sure I’m not the only mom that has this thought while their kids are in the ocean.
The trip was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. It goes back to one
of my blogs where I say moms don’t get a real vacation when they bring their kids – it’s just a TRIP, not a VACATION! There is a difference and all moms know what it is. However, I wouldn’t trade that time for anything. My daughter and I share the front room that has two full size beds and my son has his own room in the back. Ava and I sleep in later than Nash does, so it works out perfectly and Ava feels like she is sleeping with me without actually sleeping in my bed. The kids always complain that we are only there for 3 days and 2 nights, but by the end of the second day they are exhausted and half the time don’t want to go to the beach on the last day. Every year the kids became a little easier and it allows all of us to have more fun.
