A dad’s view of vacation
I recently returned from family vacation. My wife, our three sons and I went to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.
Since our return, nearly everyone has asked how it was. My hesitation makes them think I didn’t like it or that I didn’t enjoy myself, which could not be further from the truth. It is just that what is enjoyable and what constitutes a good vacation for a father are often two different things.
I have a theory that family vacation, at least in my home and I suspect in most, is a lot like Christmas— it is a lot of work, planning, stress and last minute running around for the mother, though she ultimately gets pretty much what she wants out of the deal; it is a lot of fun for the kids who will be happy with about anything, but are totally oblivious to the idea that it doesn’t just happen; and not at all about the dad, who’s enjoyment of the event is in seeing the rest of the family have fun.
With that understanding, I had a very good vacation. My boys loved the beach, the ocean, the pool, the sand and all the water features where they could play. They loved feeding the turtles that filled the pond near our condo. They liked biking everywhere we went. They liked the added adventure that with every bike ride we could stumble upon an alligator.
Even the car ride was not terrible. My wife planned the trip and the drive very well. On the first day, we drove about half way down. We timed naps and stops to break the monotony. On the second day, we had the chance to stop at a fire station and a new family friend gave the boys a tour and that livened the trip significantly.
The 14 hours in the car was greatly aided by a mobile Internet hotspot device borrowed from the Marysville Public Library. The hotspot allows users to connect up to 10 devices to an Internet connection. This allowed my eldest son to spend the entire trip with his face four inches from his phone. It also allowed my two younger sons to play on an iPad, to watch videos, to listen to streaming music and to generally entertain themselves relatively quietly.
I thought about how the mobile hotspot made their car ride much more enjoyable than the road trips of my youth.
Then I thought deeper about my car rides as a boy. I was not tethered in a car seat or any seat. I was allowed to roam freely from my fathers lap while he drove to the floor of the back seat, to the back ledge below the rear window.
I am certainly not endorsing this as a better way to transport children. That said, I think that I would have been unbearable strapped into a seat as a child.
I wonder if my father felt this way returning from vacation. Looking back, my father always seemed to enjoy himself, but I wonder if his enjoyment was much like mine — not so much his own, but in seeing others have fun. My father and I are so much alike, I suppose it likely was. I hope when my sons look back, like I do, they remember fondly how their joy made me happy…and the wonderful vacations their mother planned.
-Mac Cordell is a reporter for the Journal-Tribune.