Help, guess what? The misnomer is upon us …
Mid Winter “Vacation”? Pack, schlep, entertain the kids, find activities for them to do and do and do! It should be called the “doing-tion” not “vacate-tion”.
To vacate is to empty out. And true to the title, many do exit their homes! But there’s where the appropriateness of the name ends, and usually veers off in a whole different direction.
We gear up. We drive off or fly away. We stuff half our lives into a suitcase. And often the other half into a carry on.
The idea of vacation seems more like we should vacate the stress and pressures of life. And there’s where the name gives us pause. Because we get pretty busy.
Whether you are heading off to hot or cold, or remaining put at home, no one is getting a minute to sit still. That’s not what kids on “vacation” do. They fill up the time, they don’t empty it out. They want the vowels – Action, Excitement, Entertainment. You want the consonants -Sitting, Sunning, Sleeping!
Talk about self-defeating behavior. You’re the one who usually plans and orchestrates the details of the trip!!
So why do you do it? That’s what family bonding calls for! Being together. And that’s being tuned in. The doing is what makes kids happy! Letting them use some of their excess energy, and giving them a good time, is often what makes it much easier for them to spend all that time in school. These are the moments that parents, wisely, take to be on the same page with their kids.
So, why do we call it midwinter “vacation?” Because parents are often vacating their ideal relaxing agenda in order to make it a wonderful experience for their family.
And that’s the kind of vacating that makes sense at this time of the year!
Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or rivki@rosenwalds.com