Sitting at the bank of the wave pool with cold, raw pruned feet and dehydrated and goosebumped body wrapped in a damp towel emanating an aroma saturated with chorine, I’m simply happy.
The Great Wolf Lodge is crowded with children’s shrieks of excitement and laughter and parents in a broad spectrum of dispositions. Family vacations are for letting loose, making noise and prominent memories… and here, it is all happening with immense gusto!
Letting loose does not only apply to kiddos but the parents as well and should not be limited to vacations only.
As a mom I often find I’m reminding myself that I was once a kid and reflect upon how I felt in similar situations. In a sense I’m always composing my childhood perspectives and melding them with my older perspectives.
To shout out, “stop that”, and other choice phrases, happens; yet, the difference is not only what context but what actions follow. With my practice of melding my childhood with my adulthood, I do let loose and in doing so I discover healthier, happier and loving balances.
Making some noise is a long lost practice for some adults. Maybe it’s with age but at times, noise from a child is irksome and yet to a child these noises are discoveries only to be repeated to no end. Shortly after checking into our room, we found ourself shushing our child but then it dawned on me that we were in a place where children are the majority and I relinquished the shush with a shrug and a mild reminder of respect of others. So yes, here and now, I encourage my child to make noise!
Making memories, what, where and who are we without them?
We can not change the events of the childhood past and as we age those event memories grow and morph as we reflect upon them. How far from the actuality of those events most likely are not an exact account as we retell them but what never changes is the instant impact in that moment.
Interestingly enough with the ease and convenience of digital memory today, we do not have to work hard to retain those captured moments. Despite the fact I’m rarely seen without my iPhone, I refrain from having it plastered in front my families faces. For one, simple respect of space; two, old fashion one on one interaction and three to force the mind to collect, process and interpret moments. This is not to say that I do not take photographs of my family but I do enjoy discussing the interpreted recollections of those made memories .
Depending upon who you speak to, candy coating a vacation can be one minimizing the unpleasantness in the experience and/or sweetening what was already perfect… but truly, is there a perfect vacation with children? My answer is no and that is perfectly normal because it all, in its own way, enriches our experiences.
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