You know what the worst part about vacation is?
Not the packing, not the “are we there yets?” from kids if you have them, not even the expense…
Nope. It’s the last day. You know when you still want to enjoy beach and pool time (or wherever you are) but also know that leaving awaits you. It’s such a melancholy day for me.
I am not a huge traveler – much more of a homebody but at the beginning of each summer we spend a week in Hilton Head Island, SC with my parents. I’ve been coming here since I was literally in utero, only missing a few years here and there. My parents are still thankfully healthy enough to travel down here for a few weeks and my husband and I are lucky enough to join them for a week with our little kids. And yes, for the record, I will acknowledge how lucky I am that I’m in my early forties and my parents still take me on vacation. It’s a familiar “home away from home” for someone who doesn’t like to travel and I’ve enjoyed having my girls do many of the same things I did growing up.
And then that last day comes. Maybe it would be better if we didn’t live 12 hours away and I didn’t have to play flight attendant for my kids as my husband drives. But that last day as I’m taking pictures, enjoying the beach and pool and trying to pack, the voice in my head screams “vacations over, time to go back to real life.” And honestly real life is fine – I’m ready to go back. I like work. I miss our dog like crazy. I miss our routine.
but…I also love all of us together. Being under the same roof as my parents. Not rushing around to school or extracurricular activities. Ignoring the news. Having ice cream treats in the middle of the day. Dreaming of living at the beach.
When that last day comes and the tears threaten and I try to just be present, it’s so damn hard. The tears start to form and I find myself actually just ready to “travel by map” as they say in the Muppets and be home. Just be done with it.
BUT
How lucky am I to have something so hard to say goodbye to? How lucky am I to have my parents who still want to go on vacation with us and our crew? How lucky am I to show my girls all the stuff I love ? So I’ll take that melancholy feeling along with something I say to the ocean every year “thanks for a great time. Hope to see you next year – if not before.”
here’s to summer 2025!
My Life is a Work in Progress 