It happens to everyone. Well, I’d like to think it does so I don’t feel so crazy.
You go on vacation and when you get home you feel like you never went anywhere. You come home in a frenzy happy to be home and exhilarated from whatever trip you just experienced. Then you unpack and start a load of laundry. You eat a meal. And before you know it, you are back into routine or the ‘every day’ of your life. There are now mixed emotions because you are sad that vacation, no matter how long or short, is now over. And you wonder, “Did that even happen?”
Lizzie experienced that feeling today for the first time. The Loveladys were away on Spring Break and we spent some time with the grandparents. To my children anytime away from home and at a grandparent’s home is THE BEST. We go, we have fun, we leave and they cry. They cry and cry. They beg to stay longer, they negotiate how good they will be if they stay, they claim home is boring and wish they could live with Grandma (or Bubbe) forever. By the end of the car ride home, they are fine and back to normal asking when we get to see them again and arguing over what TV show we will watch.
When we got home Lizzie said “I forgot what we did this week.” I asked her if she remembered who she was with and she gave me a look as if I had lost my mind. She remembered the ‘who’ she just couldn’t remember the ‘what’ and she said it felt like it didn’t even happen. I hugged her and said, “I know.”
What else could I say? People spend lots of money and time trying to make memories with their family. Whether it is birthday parties or trips or anything in between, we want this experience to be the ‘best ever’ so they will remember. In the end, our kids will remember things in their own way no matter what.
Keep it about the ‘who’ and not always the ‘what.’ Sure the ‘what’ is fun. We went to the beach, the farm and Silver Springs. Time and money were spent and memories were made. When we were eating ice cream at Silver Springs, I burst into tears and said, “Time freeze right now.” Of course that made my mom cry too! Would I trade that ‘what’ for something bigger or cheaper? Nope. Would I change who was there? A person or two. But that moment is forever in my mind and heart and the ‘who’ was super important. My daughter remembered the 'who' of the week and the other was fleeting. (She really will remember more later, the shock of being home was still upon her!)
So when you come home from anywhere, remind yourselves it was important that you just spend tons of time with someone and how you spent it may not matter once the laundry gets started!
You go on vacation and when you get home you feel like you never went anywhere. You come home in a frenzy happy to be home and exhilarated from whatever trip you just experienced. Then you unpack and start a load of laundry. You eat a meal. And before you know it, you are back into routine or the ‘every day’ of your life. There are now mixed emotions because you are sad that vacation, no matter how long or short, is now over. And you wonder, “Did that even happen?”
Lizzie experienced that feeling today for the first time. The Loveladys were away on Spring Break and we spent some time with the grandparents. To my children anytime away from home and at a grandparent’s home is THE BEST. We go, we have fun, we leave and they cry. They cry and cry. They beg to stay longer, they negotiate how good they will be if they stay, they claim home is boring and wish they could live with Grandma (or Bubbe) forever. By the end of the car ride home, they are fine and back to normal asking when we get to see them again and arguing over what TV show we will watch.
When we got home Lizzie said “I forgot what we did this week.” I asked her if she remembered who she was with and she gave me a look as if I had lost my mind. She remembered the ‘who’ she just couldn’t remember the ‘what’ and she said it felt like it didn’t even happen. I hugged her and said, “I know.”
What else could I say? People spend lots of money and time trying to make memories with their family. Whether it is birthday parties or trips or anything in between, we want this experience to be the ‘best ever’ so they will remember. In the end, our kids will remember things in their own way no matter what.
Keep it about the ‘who’ and not always the ‘what.’ Sure the ‘what’ is fun. We went to the beach, the farm and Silver Springs. Time and money were spent and memories were made. When we were eating ice cream at Silver Springs, I burst into tears and said, “Time freeze right now.” Of course that made my mom cry too! Would I trade that ‘what’ for something bigger or cheaper? Nope. Would I change who was there? A person or two. But that moment is forever in my mind and heart and the ‘who’ was super important. My daughter remembered the 'who' of the week and the other was fleeting. (She really will remember more later, the shock of being home was still upon her!)
So when you come home from anywhere, remind yourselves it was important that you just spend tons of time with someone and how you spent it may not matter once the laundry gets started!