08/08/2025
The Part of Vacation No One Talks About (But Every Parent Knows)
Vacations are supposed to be relaxing, right? Sunshine, waves, laughter, and those picture-perfect family moments. And while those moments absolutely do happen, there’s a whole side of vacation life no one warns parents about… and honestly, it deserves its own brochure.
It starts with The Packing Olympics — a marathon of laundry, outfit planning, and making sure no one forgets the one pair of shoes they must have but will only wear once. Then there’s the strategic game of “How Much Can Fit in the Car Without Blocking the Rearview Mirror?” Spoiler: everything can fit… if you hold your breath while closing the trunk.
You finally arrive, unload the car, and feel victorious — until you remember you get to do the exact same thing in reverse at the end of the week. Twice. (Because there’s always a midweek trip to the store for the thing you forgot.)
Meals? You’ve already planned them in your head, packed half the ingredients, and still end up making PB&Js on the fly because the kids are “starving” five minutes after lunch.
And then there’s the sand. Oh, the sand. It’s in the car. It’s in the bed. It’s in the snacks. You’ll still be finding it in your home three weeks later, like a little postcard from the beach saying, Remember me?
But here’s the thing — in between the chaos, the car Tetris, and the inevitable meltdowns (yours and theirs), there are moments. The belly laughs, the sunsets, the seashell hunts, the sleepy smiles in the backseat. The memories that make the work worth it, every single time.
Because at the end of the day, vacation isn’t about having everything perfect. It’s about the messy, sandy, snack-crumbed moments that we’ll look back on and say, Yep, that was a good one
