With a little bit of downtime at work today I started reminiscing about our last family vacation to Orlando, and how disastrously it started off. Had I just made sure to have that stuffed animal everything else would have been fine. I realized that I felt just a tinge of anxiety for our next trip. Will we forget the stuffed animal again? Maybe something more important that can't be overnighted? Could something worse happen while we're on the vacation, an accident or serious mishap? I definitely hope not, but you really never know. And what if something does happen, and we're not prepared? These are questions that kept floating through my head all day. I was so bothered by the thought that I even mentioned it to my husband that night and we had a whole long discussion about it. He helped ease my mind about it, pointing to the fact that together we'll always make sure that we'll always make sure to take care of the kids and prevent any real serious incidents from happening (the best we can). It was then that I realized how lucky I am. My husband always helps a lot with the packing and planning when we're getting ready for a vacation, but we're not perfect by any means (as shown with our previous Rani experience - Yikes!). Obviously mistakes can be made. I then thought about all those single parents out there, struggling to save enough to take their kids on a great, much needed and well deserved, vacation and how anxious they may be about venturing out with their family and being solely responsible to remember everything on their own and keep everyone happy and healthy and safe. That definitely upped my anxiety a bit. I'm here to let all those hard-working parents and couples out there, wanting and planning to take their family on a vacation and bringing toddlers and young children to boot, that it doesn't have to be anxiety inducing. The best advice I can give is to plan and have back up plans. As long as you have a general guideline of what you plan to do while you're there. Then, once you've put together your main highlights, places you want to see and things you want to do, come up with some back ups just in case it rains or some part of your plans doesn't work out. The last thing you want to do is get stuck without a back up plan. In Orlando it's easy since there are so many attractions and fun things to do. Even if it rains you can just head to the nearest mall and shop for a bit. Luckily storms don't seem to last too long in Florida. You should also have a list of emergency numbers handy when you travel. You never want to have an accident or incident and not know who to call. If your car gets stalled on the highway or your purse gets stolen, you should have an idea of who to call. While these things are not likely to happen, especially in Orlando, it's not completely unheard of. And if you're planning a trip out of the country, or far from home, you should also peruse your travel insurance options. I've always been a "better safe than sorry" kind of traveler and there are many options out there. If you're a frequent traveler you may want to look into an annual membership rather than just paying trip by trip as it will usually save you more. As with any insurance, let's just hope you never need it. The last tip that I can offer you, when traveling with toddlers and keeping your anxiety low, is to remember to just have fun. I used to fuss so much about keeping schedules and always go-go-go, but when you have kids with you, you have to remember that they should have a chance to really experience the trip. Even toddlers, who may be too young to remember much of the trip, should be able to wander around and really see everything. Pack a good camera and make sure to keep the battery charged. When you vacation with children it's easy to forget that they may be seeing many of the sights and attractions for the very first time. That happened to me the first time we took our youngest to Orlando. It was literally the 6th time we'd been to Disney in Florida with the little tots since we had been saving so much taking those Staypromo hotel deals and after spending countless hours standing in long lines in the hot sun I got a bit short and irritated and started rushing through everything and just going through the motions. My youngest was almost 3 and I told her, after riding Dumbo, "Ok, ok, let's go..." and grabbed her hand and started gently pulling her to the next attraction so we could get in the next line and start the whole waiting process over again and she said, "But mommy, I want to say goodbye to Dumbo. I don't know when we'll be back." It kind of broke my heart, but I waited and let her say goodbye and then realized that I didn't know when we'd be back either, and from that point on I decided that we had to make sure to make the most of these family vacations. Even if we don't get to do everything on my list, the important part is to make sure that the kids get to really enjoy it. Getting to travel with kids is a real blessing. Something every parent should experience and use to create precious memories, not just for themselves, but the kids, too. It should not be met with anxiety and apprehension, but confidence and excitement. Just remember, if you're feeling nervous about taking a vacation with the kids, whether you're a single parent or married or whatever, or if it's your first vacation or fiftieth, You Got This. And just Have Fun, Take Pictures, and Relax. Time flies and if you spend it worrying or fretting you'll look back and regret it. I know I did, but not anymore. So,
1.) Plan (and back up plan) 2.) Expect the Unexpected and be prepared for whatever happens 3.) Consider travel insurance 4.) Have fun and try not to worry too much
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Etienne Waqar
It's me. Just a citizen of the world. A nomad with a computer and a duffel bag. Living the dream. |