Saying "Yes!" Will Transform Your Vacation

When you add children to your life, they bring emotions you didn't know you could have, love that could burst your heart, and demands that can seriously make you reevaluate your life choices:

"I don't need to shower today, I definitely did that last week."
"I didn't like that perfectly marker-less space on my wall anyway."
"Does going to the dentist twice a year replace brushing my teeth on a daily basis?"

Ok, so we have probably all felt these (and several other) extremes at some point when parenting, but it isn't all bad by any means. Our babies have given us renewed perspectives, a reason to laugh, and shown us that unconditional love really does exist.

Of all the monumental and tiny happenings that children have introduced into our lives, there is one for which I wasn't prepared. If you're reading this, and you're a new parent to a new baby or perhaps haven't added a child into your world, evaluate how many times per day you utter the word, "no." I can't be sure, because my brain has basically turned to mush in the last 7 years, but I think that "no" was a rather minor word in my vocabulary. Times, they have a-changed.

"No" encompasses at least 1/3 of my spoken words for the day. There are days where I am positive it is the only thing I say. I say it so much that I roll my eyes at myself, my tongue hurts from hitting the roof of my mouth, and semantic satiation steamrolls any direct effect it had on the situation.

I love giving joy to my children. I love surprising them with a "Yes!" when they are least expecting it. It assures them that I am human, compassionate, and even capable of fun. <- All of which is questioned on a daily basis by at least one of my tiny, lovely people.

Vacation is the perfect time to strike "no" from your vocabulary. This doesn't mean you should buy and consume everything in sight with no respect for your bank account, patience, or calorie intake. It simply means you have to plan on saying "yes." Ask everyone what they want to do on vacation- then make it happen. We are riding a ferris wheel (The Orlando Eye- I can't wait!) for our 4-year-old. We're spending several hours in Downtown Disney's LEGO Store since we couldn't get to Legoland on this trip for our 7-year-old. Our 5-year-old will meet Anna & Elsa even if it eats up a FastPass+ or takes hours because "yes" is our new "no." There will be icecream in our lives while on vacation. It may replace a meal. Mickey balloons that cost $10 each will be happily attached to every beautiful little wrist in our group because we budgeted for it, we know they will ask, and the light in their eyes when we say, "yes" will be worth all 4000 pennies it will cost us.

How have you said "yes" to your kiddos on vacation? Was it as worth it as I imagine it will be? 

Balloon image copyright of Mark Chandler.