The Back-to-School Travel Panic: Which of These 4 Mindsets Are You In?
In my opinion, every parent looks at the calendar in the middle of August and realizes that free-time is going to be gone within the next 2 weeks. Many parents are wanting to go on one last big vacation, other parents are wanting to focus on school supplies, and others have this overwhelming feeling to do both. We'll go over a few of these mindsets to find what works best for your family to soak up the rest of summer.
The "Bucket List Bandit"
The "Bucket List Bandit" desperately trying to squeeze a weeks worth of vacation into a 48-hour weekend after realizing that summer is almost over. They are trying to cross off everything on their summer bucket list.
Last minute destinations:
Bear Lake
Park City
St. George & Zion
Moab
Flaming Gorge
Disneyland
Jackson Hole
Yellowstone
Las Vegas
The "Zen Seeker"
The "Zen Seekers" are ones that are done with crowded theme parks and look forward to a quiet cabin or a lazy pool day. This can be a great way to mentally brace for early mornings.
Memorable Relaxation Ideas:
Backyard resort night
Hotel staycation
Sunrise or sunset picnic
Home spa evening
Float in pool or river
Movie marathon day
Do a 'no plans' Saturday
The "Stress-Case Planner"
These people are physically sitting on the beach but mentally calculating the cost for textbooks and school supplies, and worrying about fixing the kids' sleep schedules.
Brain Dump Strategy:
Set a time for 10 minutes before your vacation and write down absolutely everything in your head. Don't organize it while writing. Organization can be done if you have extra time leftover after writing everything down.
Include:
Things you need to do
Things you keep forgetting
Things you're worried about
Ideas
Errands
Projects
Tasks
Things you want to buy
Things you want to do with your family
Random thoughts
The rule: If it pops into your head, write it down.
This way you can get everything that is in your head about school on a physical piece of paper, and you can go on vacation knowing that it won't be forgotten when you get back. All anxieties can be left behind.
The Memory Maker:
These people are hyper-focused on meaningful family bonding and taking photos because "they grow up too fast".
Just a piece of advice, just because you want to create memories with your kids, does not mean you need to spend thousands of dollars on an extravagant vacation. I'm not at all saying that is a bad thing to do, but if that's not something you can afford, don't beat yourself up over it. CultureMiles is a great place to start when wanting to find discounts on great vacations
Also, kids do remember big vacations, but they also remember the intentional small moments.
Having movie nights on the weekend
Parents dropping everything when their kids get home from school
Listening to their day
Making snacks for them
Being their safe place when they've had a bad day
Having a comfortable home where their friends enjoy being
Final Thoughts:
There is no wrong way to transition yourself and your kids to school. Find something you and your family enjoy and what works best. Your kids love you and want to spend time with you.
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