Photo Fave: Our photo with the president, Washington, D.C.
Okay, I didn’t say which president!
In honor of President’s Day and President’s Week Vacation, I thought I’d look up this fun photo from our early family travels. Here we are on my first trip to Washington, D.C. – yep, as a parent with a baby!
Some people would say I’ve done a lot of things “backwards” in my life. The first time I took an airplane, I did not stop until I reached Eastern Europe – isn’t that normal for a girl from the Pacific Northwest?! And though I had already traveled over both Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the first time I touched Atlantic waters was in… France, naturally!
I did not start exploring the East Coast until after I became a mother, and while I realize this may not be the usual order of things for a U.S. mom, it’s been a fantastic journey altogether and I wouldn’t change a thing.
So when people – just this morning even – ask me if parents shouldn’t just leave their toddlers at home when they go on vacation, I have to laugh to myself and think, “Buddy, you don’t know what you’d be missing.” I’ll start by saying, “the kid!”
But I think there’s something more important here that is often overlooked by the exhausted parents among us who (perhaps too easily) fall into those complaints about energetic kids and awkward situations on airplanes. Don’t your kids have a right to know the you that isn’t bound by a dozen daily time constraints? The you that isn’t constantly checking the cell phone and replying to emails while grumbling about how much laundry is waiting to be done? Sure, you deserve a vacation – but doesn’t your child deserve a chance to know “vacation you” too?
Just a thought going into this weekend… (Step away from the computer, Mommy…) as I contemplate feeling some San Francisco sand between my toes while holding a very small hand, which is presently shoving this keyboard tray away from me — as — I type!
For more ideas, inspiration and advice on where you might travel WITH your baby, toddler, or young children, take a look at the Destinations page (click here). This post is part of the Photo Friday fun over at Deliciousbaby.com.
