What I learned from Summer Vacation.

The family summer vacation has once again come to an end.  The wife has gone back to work and it’s just me and the 2 kids again at the homestead. So what did I learn from summer vacation….with my wife, 2 kids (7 and 17 months) and a black Labrador? Here is my top 10 list.

1. Taking this crew to a cottage for a week is serious work. In fact it felt like we were moving.  This vacation reassured me that buying  a “not so” mini-van this year when our 2^nd child arrived was the right choice…it is truly remarkable how much stuff we brought with us, and how it all fit in that van.  And just when you think it’s full… you can add three more bags.  I thought we were a little over the top until my neighbour packed up his 2 kids today in his minivan….and added a box trailer!

2.  Drive thru’s must have been invented by parents of young children for parents of young children. With a van loaded with 2 kids, a dog, a week’s worth of supplies, in 30C weather, ordering lunch through the car window is sheer genius.

3. People that sneer at parents with vans equipped with video players never spent 3.5 hours on the road with 2 young kids.  Are we there yet?

4. The distance and steepness from the end of the driveway to the cottage will be directly proportional to the amount of supplies and luggage you bring.

5. Seven year old boys  believe they know everything….but can still be lead to believe that when going to the forest for vacation they will only have wild berries, mushrooms and fish to eat,  that we find or catch ourselves…was that cruel? 

6.  Despite all attempts to bribe and/ or reason with him, our son would sleep, for the first time,  in the TOP bunk of the “coolest bunk beds ever” in the cottage.  And his parents would sleep lightly, anticipating the fall and the trip to the ER in the local hospital at midnight. 

  

7. As far as 7 year olds are concerned….swimming in a lake when you “can’t touch” is a problem even though swimming in a pool when you “can’t touch” is just fine… But only for the first 10 minutes, then it’s a good idea to swim to an island 2 miles away.

8. Its remarkable how much laundry is generated from a week at a cottage….I thought we just wore bath suits every day?

9. It is possible to have fun with no TV stations, Netflix or Wifi.  And yes, there are still places in Ontario where mobile phone service sucks, and yet life goes on!  

10. Parents suffer from serious memory problems…all the memories of work, temper tantrums, lack of sleep, aching backs, expenses, etc.,  disappear after witnessing the sheer joy of the kids jumping off a dock into a pristine lake and zooming down a zipline at Santa’s Village. 

Where to next year? P.E.I.?