NEW YORK-
You’ve heard of the Lewis and Clark expedition to find the Pacific Coast? The Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II?
Well, I have a proposal to unite my family, and to inspire all of us as we move forward.
It’s a not-so-secret five-year plan to get me and my kids and my husband to Hawaii.
It will require massive funding, a commitment to the concept of vacations, and one other thing–an 18-year-old who is still willing to travel with his family.
You see, if all goes as planned, in 2011, my older son will be starting the second semester of his first year of college. And I will turn 50 that January. What better place to celebrate my 50 years on earth than in the 50th state? And what better destination than Hawaii to entice my big boy to take one last vacation with mom and dad?
I started thinking about this because my son started high school this year, and with that momentous milestone came the realization that he will probably only spend three or maybe four more summers vacationing with us before college, new friends and jobs take him away and into young adulthood.
Family vacations are one of the highlights of raising children, and the thought that I have so few left with both my boys before the older one takes off made me a little bit sad.
I tried not to panic–after all, as a family, we’ve already strolled Hollywood Boulevard, the Las Vegas Strip and the Champs Elysees. We’ve seen “American Gothic” in Chicago and “Mona Lisa” in Paris. We’ve gone skiing in the winter and whitewater rafting in the summer; we’ve fished, climbed mountains and ridden roller coasters. We’ve walked around Walden Pond, seen whales cavorting in cold Canadian waters, and explored the humid rainforest in Puerto Rico.
But there is so much more that I want to see with my husband and my kids by my side. We’ve never been to Alaska; I wish I felt it were safe enough to take them to Israel. It would be nice to see Old Faithful together, and maybe even New Orleans. But will there be enough time–not to mention enough money in our household budget–to do all that before the idea of vacationing with mom and dad sounds more like torture than fun to our kids?
In thinking this through, I realized that even when they’re born, you only get 18 years or so of family trips before they grow up, go to college or just plain refuse to spend their time off with you.
By the time they’re in kindergarten and old enough to enjoy and remember the places you want to go, you’ve only got a dozen or so years left to take them to all the places on your list.
For many Americans, that list will include at least one trip to Disney. Some families will want to take the kids to New York to see the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and a Broadway show. For others, visiting some of the country’s most famous national parks will be a goal–whether it’s Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, the Grand Canyon or all three.
But you better hurry up–by the time you’ve done all these, you’ll have used up five of your remaining vacations. And by the time they’re in middle school, you’ll only have a half-dozen Augusts left before they view summer school as a really fun alternative to traveling with you.
There will be friends who’ll invite them on adventures far more appealing than the house at the beach you’ve been renting since they were 4. By the time they’re 20, there will be significant others who want to take them away for romantic vacations far from the prying eyes of nosy parents. And of course, there will be work commitments that prevent them from taking what little vacation they’re entitled to.
That’s why I figure I need a biggie to reel in my big boy once he’s a college student. The way I see it, Christmas break of his freshman year might be my very last chance to get all four of us into the same hotel room for a week of R&R.
So to get us on track, I’m starting the planning for our trip before he even takes the PSATs.
In fact, to reinforce the idea, I’m considering printing up a promotional sticker or maybe a T-shirt I can wear around the house, so that it becomes part of his subconscious, like an ad campaign or a political message.
And what would that slogan be, you might ask?
Simple. “Hawaii 2011.”
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This week’s advice: Planning dream trips for your family is no different from making other major life commitments like buying a house or saving for college. Count how many more years you have until your oldest child turns 18. Then make a list of all the places you dream of going as a family. Sit down with your spouse and your kids and get their ideas too. Talk to other families who may have been to some of the places on your list for ideas about how to do the trips affordably and for feedback on what’s really worthwhile and what’s pure hype. Get travel books from the library or do online research on family attractions in the areas you’re considering. You may not be able to see all your dream destinations before the kids grow up, but if you start planning now, you’ll be that much closer to making at least a few of those dreams come true.
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