Yesterday we took the girls to a dairy farm that is close to our house, where they make ice cream on site fresh from the cow. It is amazing. And the girls LOVE to look at the cows, and this time we were there at milking time so they were all lined up in the barn and we fed them slices of bread. (who knew cows liked bread?)
Inside to get ice cream, in the barn to see the cows, out to the playground, up the hill to see cows in the pasture, frantically trying to get the 3yos in Crocs to NOT run down the paved hill for fear of spending the rest of the evening in the ER sewing up faces that got road rash and teeth through lips.
On the way home Hubs started waxing philosophic with his rose-colored glasses about how wonderful a beach vacation would be for the whole family.
"I can't wait until we take the girls to the beach!"
"Are you kidding me?
"No! I can't wait to see them dip their toes in the ocean and giggle and run in the sand, they will LOVE it!!"
"But I will hate it.
"So?"
"I will be the one doing all the work to get us there, keep us there, and feed us while there - and I hate the beach."
"But it's about *them*"
"You know, I give up an awful lot on a daily basis to make sure they are the priority, but when it comes to vacations that are just going to be more work for me in a different location, you think maybe we can compromise on the LOCATION?"
"What do you hate about the beach?"
"I hate the sand. I always have. I have this - I dunno, texture-aversion, I guess - I can't STAND the feel of sand on my skin. I hate walking across the house barefoot because of the Cheerio crumbs and I have to stop whatever it is I am doing until I can get the crumbs off my foot. The beach is like that times a thousand."
"So wear shoes."
"All over me? You can't go to the beach without the wind blowing sand all over everything. Plus there is the hot, glaring sun. I get sunburned in 15 minutes while wearing spf50. The sun does NOT like me."
"We'll bring an umbrella. You can wear a hat."
"The crowds, the WET sand, and everything is super expensive at the beach."
"We'll go to a beach that doesn't get crowded. Like that one by my parents house in Florida."
"New Smyrna Beach?"
"Noooooo, New Smyrna Beach is in South Carolina. We've never been to a beach in South Carolina. Think about it - why would we drive to South Carolina from Florida to go to the beach."
"I'm pretty sure it was New Smyrna Beach - 45 minutes from your parents house, we went one day. I hated it."
"New Smyrna Beach is a very famous beach in SOUTH CAROLINA! That WASN'T it!"
"Are you thinking of, maybe, MYRTLE BEACH in SOUTH CAROLINA?"
"Oh. Maybe you are right. We'll go to New Smyrna Beach."
"You mean the beach in Florida 45 minutes away from the house your parents just sold?"
"I mean we'll go to a beach LIKE New Smyrna Beach."
"WHY does it have to be the beach?
"I have such great memories of going to the sea side as a kid. I loved it."
"Just because YOU loved it doesn't mean THEY will love it. Super Meaghan is just like me with that anti-texture thing - she can barely play with Playdoh because she hates having anything on her hands."
"She'll love it. I know it."
"You don't know it. You are setting a fantasy vision of what you WANT it to be, and putting all the effort on me to make it happen."
"Well where do YOU think we should go?"
"*I* think we should base it on the girls current level of interest in subject matter. Sesame Place. Hershey Park. They LOVE amusement parks - we found that out last year at Edaville."
"Yeaaahhhh, but I still think they would love the beach once they got to experience it."
"So you seriously want to take these three to some wide-open, un-fenced in area? After chasing the twins all over the 1/4 acre of area we just left? You know we're going to lose one of them."
"Do you actually know anyone who lost a kid at the beach?"
"Yep. My friend with 4 kids lost her oldest boy for a couple of hours one time - had lifeguards, police, and tons of people looking for him. I think he was 4 at the time. They found him a mile away from where they were set up."
"Oh geez, that's rough - I'm glad they found him. But I don't mean NOW. When they are older."
"So - we have argued about how much I hate the beach at LEAST a dozen times in the last couple of years and you are STILL bringing this up? KNOWING how much I hate the beach? KNOWING I don't want to go? KNOWING that it's not something that you would even consider for at least 4 more years??"
"Yeah, I just like to talk about it. It'll be great."
[sigh]
"Maybe you could just save this 'discussion' for when we are seriously considering the next family vacation - since you KNOW how much I don't want to do this 'right now.'"
"Fine."
When we can get smiles like these at a playground, why in the world would we pack up half the house and travel and pay for hotels and meals just to go to a place that is going to make two out of five people miserable?
I want your vote - do we consider the beach? At what age? Where is a BETTER place for a family vacation that doesn't include sand?
