It’s The Little Moments That Matter

Can you believe I was never really a fan of the beach? 

...unless it was in my 20s when I would go to lay out and fall asleep. I struggled to just hang out on the beach because I always had to be on the go. I was in a long term fight or flight pattern (aka your girl was ANXIOUS).

Vacations that were centered on long days at the beach didn’t interest me. I needed activity, and sitting still felt like torture. (Well actually I needed to slow down - but I wasn’t ready).

I still enjoy DOING, but I don’t feel the need to do AS MUCH. I like to explore, move, discover on vacation. But my kids have zero interest in being dragged around for 12 hours. 

They continue teaching me lessons in slowing down. 

I have spent hours researching and planning outings, vacations, etc. to MAXIMIZE our time (my FOMO is REAL!) and plan the PERFECT vacation. It all came from a place of fear. (“Did I get the best deal? Are we going to miss out? Is this good enough?”) 

Yet time and time again, my kids show me that it's the little moments that matter - the moments when we truly connect. If I am a stressed mess trying to execute an overly aggressive itinerary, how fun do you think our vacation is??? But when I get to relax, and when they get to relax (because 12 hour days is not where they are developmentally), we have more fun. 

It’s the inside jokes, the game nights, the mishaps that have us belly laughing, the intimate conversations that we remember most. Second to that are the activities. 

The GO! GO! GO! part of me still shows up - this happens either because we are still early in our behavior change or when we have heightened stress (so we default to old, well known patterns of behavior).  Behavior change takes time - we need enough practice (or, repetitions) to solidify a new way of doing things.