The Good Doctor wanted to know what this post was about. I told him the topic was "Mommy wins," and he responded with, "That's obvious." Well, that was rude. Oh well.
And no, we're not to the cruise yet, but that will come. I promise. I just don't know when yet.
There were at least 3 Mommy Wins on this trip. I'm certain there were many more but who's counting?
The first win was googling all those travel games. We've only ever had one vehicle with a built-in DVD player. I didn't want that DVD player but the Good Doctor only buys vehicles off of ebay, and ones at a bargain, and this particular ebay bargain came with a DVD player. Fortunately, that DVD player only lasted us one trip to Florida and that was the end of that. Good because in my day we entertained ourselves while traveling and did not need technology to do that for us. Of course we also did not need to be anchored into our seats so my dad created luxurious back-of-the-van sitting areas with sleeping bags and pillows for cushions, handmade tables for games, even chairs on occasion. But I digress. While I'm okay with moments of technology, I do believe vacations can still be about audio books, family bonding and group games. Am I right? So for this trip, I came prepared. Every few hours, I'd announce that it was time to put those ear plugs and contraptions away and join in the next fabulous group game. Jesse pretended to sleep but everyone else eagerly awaiting the directions for the next amazing game. And they all came with fabulous prizes, too, like all expense paid trips to North Carolina one day or to Georgia the next, and even to Florida the next. And lucky for us, I have plenty more game ideas for the next trip.
The next Mommy Win was hiding the fact that our second campsite, where we stayed for two nights, actually had internet at our site. I found this out by mistake the first afternoon when the family went to the beach and I stayed back with Little Mister who was once again refusing a nap. I pulled out my laptop to write down a few future blog ideas and realized that not only did my computer show internet connection, but a strong one at that. I quickly put my computer away lest someone get a similar idea and check for a connection. Later that evening I caught the Good Doctor walking around the camp store glued to his ipad. I inquired as to whether or not he was on the internet, fishing for how much he knew. He informed me that there was internet service if you stayed near the store. Whew! Obviously he had not yet caught on. That little secret stayed with me for the duration and subsequently we were all able to enjoy good old fashioned conversation and family bonding instead of individual Facebook scrolling.
The third and final Mommy Win started a few days before the trip when I asked the three oldest to each be in charge of a family devotional time, one for each day of the camping trip. One child was reluctant but obedient and in the end, all participated. One child led us in a discussion of God-sized dreams, another in a significant prayer time for each of us and the trip, and the third talked about forgiveness. I enjoyed each one of them and the individual personalities that came through in their topics and discussions. I am very proud of the spiritual maturity in each of these older children and am thrilled with the examples they set for the younger crowd.
Who knows? Maybe we'll go camping for 8 days next time so everyone can have a turn?
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