LIFE: FIRST FAMILY TRIP
Last weekend marked our first trip with the kids away from home as a family. Since becoming a parent, holidays have become a subject of stress, rather than excitement, because of all the things you need to take into consideration when traveling with a child, let alone two. Given that our destination was only two hours away - by road! - I looked at this almost like a mini-test, and it has been an enlightening experience.
As a parent traveling with a child, your days (naturally) start really early and are nonstop as you are constantly on the move catering to your child’s every need (diaper change, feeding, napping, entertaining…) and you plan your days out in advance so they are filled with activities to keep them busy, making sure they reach maximum exhaustion to ensure a good night’s sleep, but also hoping they pick up something new from this experience.
The process before traveling is even more tiring, because when you are searching for a hotel, you are searching for the most family-friendly hotels and then comparing which hotel has more to offer children. When you finally settle on the hotel and move on to booking a room, you are also making sure they can provide you with a cot (or two) and that they have connecting rooms available. On the way there, you have to think up all sorts of entertainment for the duration of the trip to keep two toddlers busy, in my case. Movies, tablets, toys, music…you name it. When you finally arrive at your destination, it becomes a matter of having to get through the days, lugging strollers, diaper bags, minding their nap times, taking shifts with your partner on who gets to stay in the room while one kid naps and the other takes the other one out to play, and then switching turns when it’s the other kid’s turn to nap and so on. Of course, once bedtime hour hits, around 7.30PM, and the kids are out for the count, your day is officially over, so you end up ordering room service and watching a movie.
I guess maybe you could understand why I haven’t wanted to go through this process with the children until they’re a little older. However, both my husband and I needed a change of scenery, that’s why we decided to stay close to home and spend a weekend in Dubai to test it out. We stayed at the Madinat Jumeirah, Mina A’Salam resort and it was like hitting the jackpot. Their kid’s area is a dream!
It may have been just three days, but it was a profoundly amazing experience and I learned many things. To start with, and even though I already knew this, it was solidified this weekend as I realized how much my happiness is dependent on that of my children’s, and my Lord have they been happy. Like pure bursts of joy was coming out of them. What is it about hotels that bring out this excitement in children?
I also realized how much my husband and I needed this time to really bond with our children away from the home environment, away from relatives and family members and nannies. Away from all that is familiar to them. Just us.
Most importantly though, it made me very aware that my kids are actually well-behaved! Sure, there were some tantrums, the usual grumpiness and a few hiccups along the way, but I never said they were angels. They were easygoing, adapting well to strange beds, an unfamiliar place and a new routine, and they thrived.
I was expecting the worst, and I was wrong.
I have loved and enjoyed every moment of this weekend and I have never felt closer to my children than I do today.