Ditto. I can relax at home. Sometimes. But vacations are for making memories and experiencing something new. I also have a hard time imagining a vacation without my kids. It would be relaxing, but not as much fun. That what our "Mom and Dad Dates" are for.

I don't know, I think some people just have the "gene" to relax and others (like myself) do not! Oh how I wish I did though. Why is it soooo hard to just simply "enjoy" baking a cake with your 5 yr old (and NOT worrying about the flour that is EVERYWHERE) or jumping through mud puddles (and NOT be thinking about the mud that will eventually be all over my house)???? My husband and I were just talking about how he loves it when "Fun Staci" comes to visit..."Fun Staci" usually comes out when we are on vacation minus kids or when we drop off the kids at my mom's and go to our beloved Sooner Football games! I do feel VERY bad about this! I'm with you, if anyone has any suggestions on how to relax...PLEASE fill us in! Somehow, I know it's going to involve things like: "letting go" and "not worrying about laundry", etc...all things that shouldn't matter, but for this germaphobe freak I am, it does. Yowza, sorry for the long post, this is just a HUGE thing in my life right now I'm trying to work on!

Last night my husband asked me if I could stop pacing. I was trying to find something to do because I seem incapable of just being instead of doing. I think that thats the way I behave even on vacation, like I should be doing something all the time. The NY Times had an article on going on a retreat in this weekend's paper. It sounds good in theory but I don't know what I would do if sitting still was what the plan was.

My motto is: have fun now, relax when you're dead...(unless it's a REALLY good book).

Too bad you can't have a vacation that is both! I think it's the company you keep. Kids like to have fun, especially young boys, grownup boys. You are outnumbered! Book Atlantis for the same week next year and see what it's like. What's baby going to be then, almost two? Maybe you have a few more years to go before you get to "relax" on vacation!

Staci, if it makes you feel any better, I'm not sure my family would say that "Fun Kristin" even exists. We took a vote last summer on who was the funniest member of the family and I was the only one who got no votes. Funny is not the same thing as fun, but in my case I'm afraid it's all of a piece.

My family has had this discussion before! DH wants to experience everything a place has to offer, from before sun-up to after sun-down (and we usually take these "trips" in July, once in Philly when it was about 100 degrees...) while the kids are more interested in channel surfing and sleeping waaay in. I think if it's an issue within a family that alternating the sorts of activities from year to year would work. The definition of vacation: freedom from any activity; rest; respite; intermission. Also, a period of rest and freedom from work, study, etc., time of recreation. Kind of contradictory (and what mom can go on a vacation and NOT have to work??!) Sounds like you had fun, which I don't think was in the dictionary under vacation!!
least favorite part of any trip or vacation: packing, followed by that mental checklist as you drive away.

I think this goes both ways. I generally will pick lying on the beach watching the waves on vacation any time I get the option, and I generally succeed at doing just that. But, sometimes I wish I had it in me to be a little more adventurous and go mountain climbing in peru or snow ski in Aspen.

Every summer my husband and I tell everyone we are going out of town for the weekend and then we spend it 15 miles from home in a nice hotel downtown. We spend the days lazily window shopping or laying by the pool or even just hanging out in the room and we spend the evening eating a nice dinner. Overall it is not very expensive and it is very relaxing. I can't relax like this at home because in the back of my mind I am thinking of all the things I should be doing. In a hotel room, there is nothing to do but relax. We also have the fun vacations as well, but I look forward to that weekend every year.

I like vacations that have a little of both: fun & relaxation. I've realized that when you have young children...vacations can be far from relaxing.
And if I had the opportunity to vacation at Atlantis...I would go! The Atlantis website shows an awesome aquarium...so beautiful!

Relax? What is the meaning of this foreign word that I know nothing about???

A phenomenal book about "being" versus "doing" that I highly recommend is "The Shack" by William Young. Perhaps one could read it and relax on their next trip...uh, vacation!

I used to think my sister was crazy for going on incredibly active vacations (think zip-lining, white-water rafting, horsebackriding etc) with her family and then when I went to Costa Rica with my family it dawned on me: you can't relax with boys afoot, and the best and quickest way to get in a far-away vacation frame of mind is to DO something. It takes you out of yourself and your busy-home mindset much quicker than sitting on a beach every could.

I move and shake all week so on Sundays my husband and I try to relax as much as we can to recuperate and regenerate for the week ahead. I read, take a nap and then my husband and I have cocktails and appetizers for dinner. It's our way of gearing down so we can gear up for the week ahead.

It's ok if you don't want to relax, it's just enjoying where you are and what you have...we are total beach people, which could mean riding waves with kids all day long, playing frisbee, or, like I did last summer, watching HGTV and the waves through kitchen window while cooking better meals than I ever have time or interest in making at home during regular life. Other times, going on an adventure, touring a new city are just the right thing, like someone else said. So, if you are not a lounger, than that wouldn't be as relaxing as a more active time. And now I'm off to book our summer trip.

I had to laugh when I read this because my friend and I were just commenting on the fact that we never seem to be able to let go and just have fun anymore. I spend all my time worrying about the next thing I have to do. I find myself doing this even on vacation. My husband is definitely the fun one in our house. IF I get totally silly, he and my son seem stunned and slightly suspicious. Staci, I'm with Kristin-I don't think they believe there is a "fun Colleen". By the way Kristin, Atlantis is so great, we can't wait to head back there. Your boys will thank you forever. Not relaxing (except for the two massages I scheduled while there) but really fun.

For people like us, relaxation doesn't just happen. It has to be scheduled, coaxed, and cajoled into being. Love your children to death, but don't expect them to be the source of either your fun or relaxation - likely because we love them so much and want to share their activities. Unfortunately, we cannot share their mind set. So - how to relax? I still practice yoga (rarely)- but only for exercise, never for contemplation. It just doesn't happen. I used to try to meditate at least once a day, but if my mind stopped racing, it was usually because I fell asleep. I finally got close to a solution. Becuase of a joint injury, I started seeing a massage therapist. If you find the right one, it can be a godsend. I usually start off the session talking continuously about all the stuff in my life that is racing through my head, but as she works, talking begins to feel like too much effort - and so does thinking. I'm awake, but oblivious to everything. When she finishes, she always advises me to take a few minutes and slowly get up ---I never do, because my brain has started on its to-do list once again. But for that 30-40 minutes of a one hour session about once a month, I am truly relaxed.

I've taken both kinds of vacations...relaxing and fun. Having two boys (11 and 8), my husband and I find that if we are doing something fun on vacation, then we get to relax more at night because the boys are so exhausted (then again, so are we). We did go to Bermuda however a few years back when the boys were about 4 and 7. It was actually relaxing to be on the beach while the little one played in the sand for hours (It helped that grandma was with us). I actually didn't mind taking the big one in the water because it was so warm and clear and beautiful. But we also did some sightseeing and snorkeling, so we jad fun too. I don't think it has to be limited to one or the other. When we went to Disney last year, we did lots on some days and not much on others. Overall, I prefer mostly "fun" stuff, with some "relaxing" in between.

After 20+ years of vacations such as you just described (aka trips), my mother is currently in Hawaii with my father. Being recently retired and having no children live within 100 miles, they up and informed us they were going to go and now email us updates every other day or so.

My father's vacation is consisting of exploring Hawaii. My mother's vacation seems to be consisting partly of accompanying my father, but mostly sitting on the beach/balcony/deck while reading and enjoying a nice drink.

There is hope. :)

Sounds like you had a great vacation!

I pick the fun and adrenaline-filled (and great food!) type of trips/vacations any day!

We hiked Yosemite Falls trails before kids (shortly after my cancer treatment). It was really fun. Then before our daughter was born, we went mountain climbing (we left our toddler son with grandparents who live in the area) in southeast Asia - Mt. Kinabalu - it was so fun. We want to return and do that again - whenever that would be...

Jennic
www.sweetisu.com

Hey, do what you gotta do.