Vacation Travel

I admire my daughter's vacation parenting.

Daughter and Little Guy recently stayed with us on the Big Island for a week.

Toddler travel is something I must have purposefully forgotten. Don't get me wrong, it was a wonderful visit!  We had a great time with adventures to beaches, the tropical rain forest zoo, the marine discovery center and our local toddler playground. Little Guy loves food and willingly tries new things. He delighted in playing with blocks -- even though he packs lightly, Little Guy brought his own -- and with a pack of safari animals -- a surprise gift Nonna couldn't resist at the zoo gift shop. He was particularly taken with the giraffe and enjoyed crunching on its hooves while hanging out in his car seat.

It's just I really had forgotten what it is like to travel with a little kiddo. And I admire my daughter's vacation parenting!

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Memories are funny things.

We traveled by car and plane on many trips with our daughters from babyhood on, but one of the joys of adult children is that you can remember all the wonderful and funny things about family trips while the challenges that accompany traveling with a child or teen kind of fade into the background.

I remember

• car trips where the Jeep broke down on the highway -- yes, more than once -- but we played an exploration game in the roadside field as we waited for the tow truck.
• joy while playing in the ocean and sand with giggling, shrieking little girls.
• early morning elation and silliness and songs walking to the amusement park.
• surprise and awe on little faces when they were selected from the Luau audience to participate in the Hula.
• little bodies quietly falling asleep on my lap or shoulder as we ate a late dinner.
• anticipation and excitement as we prepared for the yearly extended family trip to a lake and cabin.

I remember so many moments of family-vacation joy. I do not remember wrangling children and luggage, adjusting to changes in routine, tantrums or grumpy adults. These things must have existed or happened, but I do not remember them.

Memories are funny things.

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Inspiring & humbling.

There is so much work that goes into parenting on vacation and my daughter is great at taking each challenge in stride. I am so proud of her purposeful, calm, consistent parenting style. I know my daughter was tired while visiting. I know she missed her husband. I know so much family time was perhaps more than her introvert-soul needed all at once.

Watching my daughter handle toddler-travel-challenges with grace and humor and consistency -- dealing with the airline over damage to a new car seat, a 3-hour time zone change totally messing up the Little Guy's eating and sleeping schedule, helping a 15-month-old adjust to different house/vacation rules, and a red-eye plane trip home -- was inspiring and humbling.

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To all the parents who travel with babies, toddlers, children and teens: KUDOS!

It's a tough job, but you will remember only the joy and silliness and exaltation at the end of the trip. I hope you are blessed with kindness and support along the way.

With much love & prayer,                    
Nonna