My college buddy, Mia, and I are gearing up for a beach getaway. This time, we’re bringing along the kiddos, leaving our husbands behind, and we’ve already had the logistics chat. It kicked off with babysitters and wrapped up with a toast of wine. In our eagerness to plan this trip months ago, we didn’t stop to consider our new reality. After all, how many beach trips have we enjoyed together over the last two decades? We thought we had it all figured out. But now, we’re juggling five kids aged 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. Yeah, that escalated quickly! Here’s what we can expect:
1. Naptime Negotiations
In college, napping on the beach was either due to a rough night or the generous consumption of cocktails. As parents, naps are now precious commodities—hardly long enough to recharge. Most of the time, we just want to sit quietly, but if we do manage to sneak in some margaritas, we’ve got a responsible window from 3 p.m. onward to figure things out. So, we agreed our babysitter needs to arrive right at 3.
2. Food Frenzy
Every beach adventure in our college days kicked off with a trip to the local store, stocking up on essentials like beer, bottled water, and snacks galore. For this upcoming trip, I’m bracing myself to drop around $400 at Costco on individually packaged snacks like goldfish, veggie straws, and Capri Suns. Spoiler alert: those snacks will vanish in mere moments!
3. Entertainment Evolution
From ages 19 to 22, entertainment meant anything live—music, fishing, or even live TV shoots. We’d wake up, recap the night before, and hit the beach. Now, our “entertainment” consists of a DVD collection filled with cartoons, bubbles, maybe a kite, a suitcase bursting with chalk, and approximately 30 Elsa costumes. Not to mention we may turn applying sunscreen into an Olympic event, complete with eager spectators.
4. Booze Balance
Back in the day, we downed beers like pros, took shots, and called a vodka-V8 combo a Bloody Mary when we wanted to feel fancy. Nowadays, we opt for better wine (it helps with recovery, trust me) but in much smaller quantities. We’ll probably start with a mimosa and still somehow end up feeling a bit hungover!
Of course, as we plan this trip, I can’t help but think of how our lives have transformed and how we can still enjoy the beach despite the chaos. If you’re curious about parenting while navigating these changes, check out this post on home insemination kits. And for those diving into the world of conception, this article on artificial insemination can offer great insights.
In summary, our beach trip will be a whirlwind of naps, kid-friendly snacks, and entertainment that looks nothing like our college days. But hey, that’s what makes it fun, right?