I was on the phone with a friend and before our conversation turned to more serious matters we discussed an interesting facet of motherhood. We are both amazed how quickly people who no longer have small children forget how hard it is to travel with them. They have all sorts grandiose ideas about international trips that include the extended family or they talk of cruises that last for fourteen days (fourteen days!!). What this would mean for parents with very young and/or very rambunctious children is entirely different than for a family or couple with older/calmer or completely grown children.
The thought of being trapped on a boat for fourteen days, and I don’t care how big it is, with my boys is enough for me to shout, “Woman overboard!” Imagining my friend traveling across oceans with her little clan of young kids makes my skin crawl with anxiety for her. Essentially this ‘vacation’ would simply mean she would be responsible for all her regular motherhood duties with the added bonus that her kids would be jetlagged and out their minds without their routine or familiar surroundings. Nothing international is worth this kind of stress. Nothing. Not even a George Clooney sighting in Italy would take the sting away.
So, the question is, how do people forget how hard it is? And please, if you know, share how to do so with me immediately.