Stress, my men and I are going on vacation. It may be a cliché, but for me as a working mother the period before traveling is hectic and confusing. Soon the holiday stress hits. But none the less, my three men and I are looking forward to it. The hectic period starts when I hear parents in the schoolyard asking each other and telling each other:'Where are you going?', 'Oh, what a fun and original holiday destination…', or 'We are going camping by the sea, swimming and playing. on the beach…'. I stand in between, with my head still at work because the colleagues have already left and I'm not working on it yet.
At that moment, behind the word vacation, I still have a very, very big question mark. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to it, in such a period "out of the daily rhythm". But the last few months, no ideas just crossed my mind. And the funny thing is that in January I knew exactly how and what. But then I wondered; do I book early or go for a last minute or will there be negative travel advice for my dream destination by then, given the world developments? Doubt, therefore, set in firmly and the hunches sank far away.
I was woken up by my two sons and the parents in the schoolyard. But where on earth? I find it exciting with everything that happens around us, and for me that partly determines where we go as a family. Just do some surfing on the internet. We are of course very late with booking so a lot is already full. Logical, I guess. Who else is waiting for such a "come, come counsel" mother. And gosh ..... how many holiday sites there are, it is almost impossible to compare. At some point I have ten tabs open and I can no longer see the wood for the trees. I'm actually done with it for a while.
What now? First let's list our wishes. Are we going to fly or by car and what kind of weather do we want? Which activities do we want to do and, last but not least, what does it all cost? Eventually I arrive at a nice site and click on a number of accommodations. If I don't like the photos, I usually quickly click them away. Do you have that too? After a long search I found a nice location in France, which almost met all our wishes. Finally…
But now it comes… I find out that in France you have to swim at many accommodations with a swimming cap and tight swimming trunks on. Well, my men really don't feel like that, there's nothing to talk about 😉 . They also want to look a bit trendy with it! I had to laugh a lot at all their comments, but the conclusion was soon clear. Mom, even if you're busy, just keep looking. And whoops, the holiday stress is back and I'm racing against the clock again for another accommodation. In the end I managed to find a nice location that meets their needs, pfff… I'm ready for a holiday 😉 .
Everything is now booked and in a few weeks I will pack up with my partner and our sons and go out into the wide world. On to France. And then I run into an unclear moment again. Packing the suitcases. I take too much anyway and I am always afraid that I will forget something. Maybe I should make a holiday checklist like that 😉 .
But once we are well and truly in the car and I hear the sound of our trusty four-wheeler, yes, that moment is the moment I can enjoy so much. Relaxation. Let's go!
Do you recognize this holiday stress or are you always fully prepared?
