Earlier today Steve asked me when our vacations were going to be restful again. I got to thinking about the definition of vacation to make sure our expectations are set appropriately. Should we expect rest, or does 'vacation' simply mean to leave work for a few days.
Taken from the Merriam Webster online dictionary, 'vacation; is defined as the following:
Definition of VACATION
1: a respite or a time of respite from something : intermission
2: a : a scheduled period during which activity (as of a court or school) is suspended b : a period of exemption from work granted to an employee
3: a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation vacation at the beach>
4: an act or an instance of vacating
If we only apply definition 2a, then our vacations are not true vacations. Activity is not suspended, just different. All of the other definitions apply. I guess in large part, our perception of a vacation being restful is a misconception.
On this past trip, our days were spent telling Emily 'off limits' every 30 seconds and chasing after her. Abby wanted to play in the snow almost every waking moment she wasn't watching Tinkerbell. Abby and Daddy went on adventures walking through the snow at least twice a day. We also hit Northstar twice to watch the ice skaters and walk around in a different environment.
Despite the exhaustion, I wouldn't change a thing about our vacation. It's really important to me to give our girls new and different experiences even if it's not easy. We hope they grow to love travel, the snow, the beach, meeting people in different parts of the world and have wonderful memories of the vacations we took as a family.
PS: Here is 'Frosty' take 2. We had snow this morning so Steve and Abby were able to re-build Frosty. When I came outside to take a peek, she yelled "Mom, I made Frosty, Mom I made Frosty". She was beyond excited...
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