…And my face drops in humiliation!
When traveling with kids you must be ready for a little of everything. You just hope you recognize that look in your kids face when they are fixing to do something truly & remarkably dumb. At least to give you the chance to defray the situation before utter humiliation is upon you.
We are blessed with a 17 yr old daughter and 14 year old son. We have always had a great time together. Since they are getting older it has become easier to travel with them. You start to notice their maturity level rises each time. So when this conversation came up I was shocked.
August 2015 we took the kids to Beaches Negril Resort in Jamaica. Oh WOW is all I can say. The resort boasts a fabulous kids water area with two huge water slides among many other kids activities. The life guards in charge of these areas are usually pretty laid back. I’m sure they’ve seen all kinds of stupid things that kids try to pull coming down the slides. I would walk over and check on Connor. Ask if he needed some “guidance?” I got a very casual “Yah, Mon he’s fine!” To which I was relieved and was able to settle back and enjoy my beach habitation. The glorious kids water park was right next to the beach and made it easy for me to keep an eye out. What marvelous planning on someone’s part!
This was truly a great vacation and everyone was doing what made them happy!
Truth is we like to eat! We eat a good dinner then have a great room service for a 4th, 5th or 6th meal of the day. We’re on vacation, whose counting? This night we decided to go to the fanciest restaurant at the resort. Couldn’t help but think about how really uncomfortable this would have been on vacations in the past. But I was feeling good about this and the vacation had gone well so far.
We walk in and to see a beautiful piano playing. It was an elegant domed shaped restaurant with dimmed lights. A very nice and upscale setting. Almost unexpected for a family resort. Got to our seat and was started to look at the menu. A large family that we had eaten with the night before was already enjoying their dinner. We had not noticed them until a loud man hollers, “Houston we have a problem!” This was due to the fact we were from Houston. Kind of embarrassing, but it was good to see them one last time since they were leaving early the next morning. Time to order, and then it happened. Connor ordered the lobster. Being unsure as to how it would be served, he then added with a cracking and unsure voice “the Lobster, you know the kind that is already dead.”
Because who wants to chase a lobster around your plate when you are starving?
I remember just closing my eyes and wondering what just happened. The waitress was very amused and so was the table beside us. I knew exactly what he meant, we have all seen the live lobsters in restaurants where you pick out the one you want.
What do you say after that? Because something must be said…
So when you are traveling with kids, expect the unexpected. Give them a little room to make mistakes and do something out of your comfort zone. If we have made a mistake, we learn from them. Then, maybe then we can’t call them a mistake call it a learning experience? When we travel we have these preconceived notions of how the vacation will be and the things we will do. But do those really happen every time? That is why it is called an adventure. Don’t plan out every minute. Take time to relax and just soak in the atmosphere. Whether it is a beach with waves crashing or a fancy restaurant and your kid orders DEAD LOBSTER! Embrace the funny things, that is what your memories are made of.
Get out there, live, experience the world & order the dead lobster!