Wednesday, April 20, 2016

I'm Now One Of THOSE Parents

Come here. Come close so you can hear my half ashamed whisper admission. All of those "surprise we're going to ____!" videos you see online? I hate them. I think they're so stupid. Just plan your vacation together, without trying to shock your kids into pissing their pants excitement. I mean, as a kid I would have been ticked if my parents pulled that shit on me. That was my feelings as of a month ago at least. Now, I totally get it.

My minis have been begging to go on a vacation since last May when we got back from our trip to the Wisconsin Dells. But life kept us plenty busy and no vacation with the minis was taken (Hubs and I managed to get away to Vegas for a few days. Read about that trip here, here, and here). We had planned to take them to Indianapolis for spring break, but work commitments on Hubs part kept us home. They've asked every single day since when we were going somewhere. They've taken the time to plan their own elaborate vacations in hopes that what we do. In short, they've been driving me bonkers with their nonstop travel questions.

I couldn't take telling them we'd be going to Indy for a long weekend and hiking sand dunes along Lake Michigan. They'd triple their travel talk, asking me exactly when we were leaving, and for every single detail of the trip. They would have had bags full of crap packed weeks ago. For my sanity, I chose not to tell them when exactly we'll be going or where we're going. I chose to become one of those surprise parents. This has kept the travel crazies to a minimum and my sanity intact.  

I've been able to plan things without someone constantly looking over my shoulder informing me they don't want to do that. I've been able to read restaurant reviews and look at maps. In peace. It's actually been enjoyable. The silliest part, that has me rolling my eyes at myself, is that I've taken more time to plan out how we're going to tell them than plan the actual vacation. I've become those people. And I don't regret it one bit. I'll do anything to keep my wits about me.

Never say never when it comes to parenting.