Is it being with the ones you love? Yes, but more factors must be considered. We all know of family vacations that turn into something miserable, where people turn on each other.
Is it one free of worry, cost, adversity, or bad weather? No. Adversity can bring families together, as can bad weather. And “free” comes with strings attached, or a long-term Timeshare obligation, as I found out. (Anyone interested in buying mine?)
So what ARE the key ingredients that make a particular vacation particularly happy?
My family and my brother’s family were asked that very question, and we planned accordingly for our week at Eagle River, WI. Not everything went according to plan, but most things did, and we had a great vacation anyway. Here are the key ingredients for great vacations.
There must be Tradition. We do many things because we always have and family vacations, especially in new settings, need a certain amount of predictability to them. Why do we Gruens pass along certain family customs and enjoy the same things year after year? Just because. Now cue the music from “Fiddle on the Roof.” But when others stubbornly reply, “We’ve never done it that way before!” or “How come only boys get to do that?” then it’s time to …
Mature talk among adults. Thankfully, this also included all our adult sons, nephews and nieces—as we shared from our hearts, as well as with our business minds. I was delighted when others share their passion for certain hobbies, tech stuff, significant others, job aspirations, or their bucket list. More than smart phones and Facebook, we need these significant and leisurely face times to catch-up on relationships, family gossip, hugs and other bonding times. This leads to everyone...
Joining in the housework as a team. For one busy beaver in our family, a happy vacation is one where we “form a congenial group with everyone pulling their own weight and without all the work falling to a few while the rest play.” She got her wish, as we took turns shopping, cooking, and cleaning up--as the mature adults we are. But, if you ask for too much on your wish list, as in…
Above all...or bottom line... Create something real and memorable. For all the reasons cited above, vacations can be great memory-makers. But if it’s not captured on film, I think it didn’t happen. And try as we might to capture Eric on film (pictured in red, 3x, same photo), he kept moving left to right, even as I was taking a sweeping panoramic picture! So enjoy the album link on my Facebook page, if you want more than what is embedded here.
But what’s embedded in my heart and mind can not be captured on film or in this blog. What we had in Eagle River, WI, in July of 2011, was simply GREAT. Next month Bill and I hike the Appalachian Trail in the White Mountains of NH, which I last did when I was a camper, age 13.