AITA? We did not take a family vacation this summer.
Before you answer that, let me set the stage.
We are a family of 4 with two teens (a 16- and 18-year-old who just graduated from high school), and when we asked them what they wanted to do or where they would like to go for a vacation, their answer was basically “their room” or at least not to leave home. Could we have forced the issue? Sure. But we didn’t, and here is why.
Our 16-year-old son was taking a six-week summer class to advance in his math classes. If he were to have missed a class, it would have been like missing a whole week of school, AND we paid good money for him to do this (at his request, mind you).
Our oldest had just graduated high school. She was ready for a break and wanted to do nothing. I can’t say I blamed her.
It is expensive to take a family of 4 on a vacation, especially when you already live in California. We already live in California. In some ways, it is like being on vacation. There are so many things to do.
So, we did take advantage of local events and adventures. We couldn’t agree on a place. While I wanted the beach, our son wanted cooler weather, our daughter wanted NOT to fly, and my husband wanted to stay within budget. However . . . I did take a short trip to Atlanta. My husband had a few trips for work and pleasure. We got our vacation. Selfish.
Self-care, yep – that, too!
Will we try again? Perhaps. But now that our kids are getting older, maybe we will continue to offer, and if they don’t want to go, we will continue to do things on our own or just the two of us. Our kids have had some pretty epic vacations in their lives (Ireland, Disneyland, Disney World, Yosemite, San Diego, New York; we’ve lived in Washington, D.C, and in Phoenix, AZ), so it’s not like they have been confined at home. There is also admittedly a little fear on their part of being in crowds, especially growing up during
the era of school shootings and COVID. They have grown to love the safety of the home we have created. I have to admit, I love that, too.
