Four weeks ago we spent a week in Florida for our family vacation. The night before we left our car broke down and we had to drive 3 hours round trip to borrow a car from my parents.
Then there’s another trip to Florida where our van broke down late at night along the highway.
There are the summers we’ve not been able to afford a vacation and have chosen to do a “staycation” instead.
There was the time we divided the family onto three different airlines in an effort to use all our frequent flier miles and afford the cruise we wanted to take. My husband’s flight got cancelled, forcing him to spend the night in an airport and barely arriving in time for the cruise.
There’s our trip to California many years ago when our two children came down with chickenpox the day we left. (My apologies to those who stayed in the hotel rooms after we did on that trip! My husband had to officiate a wedding so we had to make the trip chickenpox or not!)
Let’s face it…there are no perfect vacations!
This I know…from experience.
What I have learned, however, is that I can make or break a vacation when imperfection shows up (and it will!). My attitude will either contribute to the mess or turn it into an opportunity in some way.
I’ve come to understand that when life doesn’t go the way I want, the moment I am in is just as important as the moment I had hoped to experience. Embrace “what is” rather than wish for “what could have been.”
Got vacation plans this summer? Expect them to be imperfect. Expect things to not go as planned.
When imperfections show up, smile to yourself and say, “Of course. This is exactly what I was expecting.”
Want to know you’re not alone? Today’s the Third Thursday Hearts at Home Blog Hop! Just click on any of the links below to find more encouragement on imperfect vacations!
Really trying to keep that in mind as we leave for Florida in a week. Thanks!
Jill,
Thanks for that blog. Last summer I took a vacation with my kids and my mom to Tennesee. The Trip started off great, a 14 year old ,a 4 and half year old and my mother being 63, and me 35. All the snacks were packed and coolers were in place. How ever the further south we got the hotter it got. Almost 5 hours into the drive my Air quit working in my SUV and it was 100 degrees out side. Im not big on using the Air Conditioner but the kids and my mom begged. (lol) We put the windows down and used the fresh hot air that the good Lord provided for us. I was in heaven. 🙂 We get to our destination Gatlinburg TN, get settled in, sleep thru the night only to wake up to a flat Tire! So here we are 2 days into the trip of a 7 day vacation and car trouble. We find the nearest WalMart , only to find out I had to have 2 new tires on my SUV not just one. The Wires were sticking out on each of the tires the mechanic would not put them back on he said they were not safe. Thank the Good Lord we got there safely and not had a blown tire. We just didnt have Blown Cold Air. I thought This vacation is costing me more than planned, and how am I gonna afford what we had planned to do the rest of the week. But long story short, God is Good, My mom paid for the Tires (since I dont have a credit card and refuse to have one) and then she let me pay her back in payments. I have been blessed with such amazing parents who have helped me thru this thing called LIFE> I have been divorced 2 times, and have had 2 bad relationships since them. I am thankful to have been raised in a christian home and to know we all make mistakes and we have a gracious forgiving heavenly Father.
This year I am taking you up on the Stayvacation, in July.
Thanks for letting me share my story.
Carol, Wow! What a crazy vacation! Thank you for sharing!
Since we vacation on the cheap–camping or cabin that someone else owns that let’s us use it for free mostly…I have to prep myself that I still need to make meals and “fun” will need to be kid focused right now. Last time we vacationed, I pre-made pancakes, french toast and breakfast meat so it was just heat, eat, and go. I pre-made meals I could just throw in the crock pot. I packed picnic lunches in bundles so they were grab and go to eat at a park or at the beach. Made the actual vacation less stressful.
Great idea, Christine. Sometimes its more work up front, but it allows you to relax while you’re on vacation!