Summer Vacation Thoughts

I remember being confused as a child when my mother would say, usually towards the end of our family vacations, that she couldn't wait to sleep in her own bed again. This was her way of saying that she was ready for our family "vacation" to be over, and I could never quite understand why she would think this! After all, I loved vacation and would have stayed forever if I could have! Now that I'm the parent, I understand my mother's words much better than I did as a child, although I must say that our first "real" family vacation was a great one. We just returned from a week at the beach with extended family, and we had a wonderful time! While it was nice to sleep in my own bed again, I could have definitely spent a couple more days playing on the beach and spending the days with family.

Partly, this is because the coming home can be so tough :) Not only did my hubby return to work this morning, but there is a whole laundry list of things that need to get done around the house. On top of that, I've made some outside commitments (to vacation Bible school at our church, to be exact) that have me feeling a bit in over my head. So, while it's always good to be home, I'm already feeling ready for the next vacation :)

This past week spent at the beach with our family made me feel truly blessed: to have the wonderful family that we do, to have the opportunity to have a new experience with my hubby and kids, to be able to spend time resting away from the responsibilities of everyday life. These are truly blessings that many people do not enjoy, and we have tried to help our kids understand this and to be grateful. As we prepared for this family vacation, my husband and I agreed that our main goal was to create memories for our children, and in the process I think that we also created great memories for ourselves. As I finish organizing for VBS (and to think that just a year ago, I had no idea what VBS stood for!), I can just close my eyes and remember our family jumping through the waves and playing in the sand together. All in all, I would say that this trip was a winner :)