The Horrors of Getting There
Traveling with kids has its ups and downs and range of emotions — highs from witnessing first experiences to kids begging for screen time after a single instant of boredom. Navigating airports and new cities with bickering kids may be worth the final destination of exotic locations or getting to see family and friends.
Collect moments, not things
Last weekend I took my two kids to Chicago for my cousin’s wedding. It was sort of a mini family reunion. Several from my mom’s side were able to go. My kids got to spend some time with their cousins. I got to see cousins I had not seen in several years. It was beautiful for numerous reasons.
My mom found a beautiful AriBNB in Old Town, a hip part of town with lots of private gyms, restaurants and bars, and salons. It was a 4-story walk up and we had one whole floor above a bridal shop. The first thing my kids did upon arrival was open all of the many doors. They found one door that led up to the top or down to the basement. Within the basement, they found many more rooms, including the wedding dress inventory room. Since my kids are from South Florida where there are no underground rooms in any buildings, they were completely enchanted. Cassia and Nico spent a lot of time descending into the depths of the building.
The basement was not the only surprise in the building. Once bedtime was upon us, we were not prepared to have all of the nightlife seemingly in our beds. From cars thumping and noisy groups of drunken youth, whatever insulation might have existed was completely insufficient. Not to mention a family of 8 living above us to seemed to play games of marbles at the crack of daylight.
But we didn’t go on this trip for good sleep. We want to celebrate my cousin Jon and his new wife Ashley. We went to reconnect with family and an opportunity for my kids create a bond with their cousins and create lasting memories. We went to see a new city and enjoy two days without 100% humidity.
In the time between wedding events, we did not do a whole lot. I wanted to just go with the flow, but I struggle when the flow does not align with my expectations. We spent the morning walking around Lincoln park which was beautiful.
Sometime after lunch and after about an hour with squabbling kids in the apartment, I had to get out. I ordered an Uber with only 2 hours until the next event and went downtown. I felt we traveled all this way, damnit we’re going to see some sights. Well the kids were pissed off. They did not even want to set eyes on the lion statues in front of the Art Institute of Chicago. They did not want to walk a step in the direction of the playground unless they got new Pokemon cards. We did a quick walk around, then it was time to get ready for the main event.
The main event. My cousin Jon had a lovely celebration filled with tons of life long friends and newer ones. Whenever I go to wedding, it’s quite clear the difference from my own wedding. When Chris and I got married, I feel like we were young in our relationship. We were in transitional periods of our lives — spending a year in Ft Lauderdale and then moving to Boca. We were still cementing our friend groups. Coming from Baltimore and largely severing segments of my life, I did not have any long time companions. Our circle was small and we did not have people lining up with speeches. Jon’s wedding was essentially the opposite. There were tons of friends old and new. Lots of beautiful speeches.
Trips for traveling with kids:
Set your expectations low for the logistics portion
Pack plenty of snacks
Have games or a new travel toy ready (I brought small play-dough, Uno, Taco/Cat/Goat/Cheese/Pizza, memory, and SpotIt)
Remember to take breaks for yourself.