I just returned from a vacation, and for the first time in a long time, I don't actually feel like I need a vacation. I guess that means "mission accomplished!"
So where did we go? We went to Destin, Florida. It's an easy drive from where we live, and it's a great place to get to once you've arrived. White sandy beaches, glorious blue Gulf waters, and a resort with four golf courses, 15 tennis courts, and 17 swimming pools is a nice place to be. This particular resort also allowed for four hours of "free" bike rental each day and an hour of "free" tennis, as well as "free" transportation via shuttle buses anywhere within the 2400 acre compound. It was a pretty nice place. Sort of a Disneyland for adults.
Of course, no matter where you go, if you take your kids you're going to deal with that necessary kid evil: boredom. Yes, even with golf courses, bike paths, shopping, tennis, dozens of swimming pools and the Gulf of Mexico at your doorstep, if you're 15 or 13, this sort of paradise is actually "boring." Who would have thunk it?
Fortunately, my husband and I have gotten to that ripe old age where we, frankly, just don't care. It sort of bugged us at first -- the fact that the kids had no interest in watching the sun set on the beach and the fact that they thought bike riding was "geeky." We were concerned that they whined a little at the swimming pools being cold and the "game room" having only four games in it. I guess after nearly 16 years of being parents we're done trying to keep them constantly entertained. Besides, if a five star resort can't do it, who can? I've decided that teens are actually on a mission to be miserable, so we decided to let the kids do what they wanted to do this vacation and be bored. It certainly helped that we were having a great time -- enough so that we really didn't notice how bored the kids were.
Yes, we rode bikes and felt the thrill of the warm winds on our faces as we raced along the manicured paths. We played tennis as often as we could, enjoying the clay courts and the warm spring sunshine. We even hung out at the pool, where we sampled adult beverages, listened to live entertainment, watched the spring breakers in their bikinis and smiled at the parents busily entertaining their younger children.
"I wonder what the kids are doing?" one of us would occasionally say. "Who cares?" the other would answer. Of course we did care, but we weren't real concerned. There wasn't much for them to get in trouble with at this resort. With security guards at ever access point and "free" transportation anywhere they needed to go, we didn't have to worry about carting them around. We saw them at the miniature golf once. (They pretended they didn't know us.) We waved at them at the pool once. (They pretended they didn't see us.) And we showed up back at the condo with ice cream and a few groceries every day around 4, just to make sure they didn't starve.
Yes, we went to Florida and mostly our kids stayed inside. With three televisions in the condo, and two or three game systems brought from home, plus a fully stocked refrigerator and resort keys that allowed them to charge anything they really needed, we weren't too worried about their entertainment needs.
Yes, I've finally gotten to the point where I love family vacations.
