Family Vacations: Friend or Foe?

Last week, my spring break finally arrived. I have been needing a break, and it was finally here. At the beginning of February, we thought it would be fun to take the girls to Zion National Park for spring break. We reserved a campsite and eagerly looked forward to our upcoming vacation, and so did the girls.

My very favorite memories with my family are our family vacations. I remember going to Yellowstone, Colorado, and Disneyland. I remember our overnight camping trips. I remember going to Holter Lake in Montana with my mom's extended family. I believe in family vacations. Families need them. But you know what I found out? Family vacations are a BUTT-LOAD of work for the parents. Especially camping vacations.

I'm used to camping with single people. Everyone takes care of their own clothes, food, shelter, plans, etc. You only have to worry about yourself. It's a very different thing planning/packing/preparing/cleaning for myself and a family. And when you throw in camping sleep (or lack thereof) with some confusion over how to be a step parent ("if these were my kids, I'd do X. But they're not, so what do I do instead?"), I was done done done by the end of our trip. Full on sobbing in the bedroom like I'm the 7 year old. Ugh.

The trip was worth it. The girls had a blast, we did some kid-friendly hikes, and they got to play with their cousins for awhile. They were happy and we were able to spend some precious time with them. But we didn't get to do the hikes we'd have preferred and we got virtually no alone time for 4 days. It was just a hell of a lot of work.

I'm back teaching today, and I feel more tired now than I did before spring break. Is this what being a step parent feels like? Constant work with little payoff? Does the payoff come later? Am I still adjusting? Am I selfish? I am wondering whether I just need to do some meditation and prayer around what my purpose for these girls is. Why am I here? What do they need from me? What do I need from them? Who am I now in this new role?

I need a nap. (I'll try to get pics from The Mister.)