Why we vacation without kids
I recently traveled to Las Vegas with some of our closest friends. We spent five days hiking, eating, drinking, site seeing, gambling, sitting by the pool, and more. I read an entire book in three days. I showered uninterrupted. I stayed up late and slept in. I took care of one person only. Myself.
In my last blog post I wrote about why we love to travel with our kids. Today I want to share why we also choose to travel without our kids.
As parents, it can be difficult to make time for ourselves. I have a mental battle with myself every time we plan time away from the kids. The truth is that your guilt will be your biggest hurdle in the process; however, it is important to recognize the importance for self-care.
The kids will be okay.
I feel the need to write this again because it is what I have to repeat to myself. The kids will be okay. In fact, your time away is an opportunity for your kids to have new experiences with different people. For our kids it most often involves time with grandparents, which gives them a chance to bond and create their own memories with very special people in their lives.
Additionally, breaking our kids from their normal routine for a bit is exciting and feels like an adventure. Creating a little space from time to time empowers them to be more independent and courageous. I’ve watched our four-year-old grow and mature during our time away. She takes her role as the big sister and protector of her little brother very seriously. Our two-year-old is a momma’s boy, and it’s helped him become freer and more appreciative of his sister, mom, and dad.
Where have our vacations been and what do they look like?
It’s a little bit of everything. We love to take vacations with our friends and family. We’ve hiked in Lake Tahoe, relaxed on the beach in Cancun, danced in Nashville, visited family in Chicago and more.
We’ve traveled separately for guys and girls trips. And we’ve vacationed with just the two of us.
There’s something different about letting loose when you don’t have to go home to kids. It’s a chance to be an adult and not a parent. We do and say stupid things. We have quality conversations. We laugh a lot. We have zero responsibility beyond ourselves. We recharge, reset, and relax.
I pride myself on prioritizing my relationship with my husband, but the reality is that life is busy. Late meetings, bedtime routine, and other obligations often consume our evenings. We naturally prioritize our kids’ needs. All of these things are incredible and we wouldn’t trade it for the world. But traveling without our kids gives us dedicated time for each other and keeps our relationship centered.
Our mental health is so important and often overlooked. We have to take care of ourselves so that we can better take care of others. I believe that our vacations model to our children that we are willing to prioritize our health and wellbeing. And in the grand scheme of things, it really isn’t that much time to ask for yourself.
So take the vacation guilt-free. We’ve had amazing experiences from our vacations. And we are better parents because of it.
