Family Vacations

Summer is only halfway over and I'm already trying to figure out next summer's vacation. (We haven't even taken our vacation for this summer, yet!) After years of missing the group family vacation for various reasons, my own family, infant-in-tow, joined the group of 40+ extended family members. Somehow, it wasn't as warm and fuzzy as I expected. All the teeny-boppers are too self-involved to be trusted with any baby-sitting (nor were they the least bit interested). Plus the intermittent naps and early bedtime decreased flexibility for activities.

Here we are, gearing up for our second trip. The dynamic will be drastically different as we now have a roving toddler who takes 1-2 naps each day and will eat most normal food wherever we go. Not that this means vacationing will be easier, it will just come with new challenges. I hope that the baby is going to have greater appeal now that he can play with others and run around. This should lead to a little less time spent tethered to the kid.

Now, back to the reason we are already contemplating a return to this locale in the coming years. After returning to work full time, we are bound to the day care schedule. The day care that is closed annually during the week following this vacation ritual. Maybe I wouldn't ponder this dilemma too hard if I had unlimited paid time off. But it also makes for a confusing return for a kid to day care after two weeks off.

Add to the equation the fact that we were naive enough to be duped into buying not one, but TWO (2), time shares. Aside from the fact that the shares are in Las Vegas (not my idea of a summertime locale), it seems ridiculous to take a vacation without using these things that we've spent a mind-numbing amount of money on. Well this begins our adventure of trading. We have successfully traded for some lesser known resorts so my husband can go skiing out West. In those instances, we have been pretty flexible with when and where. For this trip, we are going to be pretty particular since the week is set and we would like to stay within driving distance.

The whole thing weighs heavy on my mind, even though there are so many unpredictable variables. As a consolation, at least it will only be there until the next "crisis" crops up.