Five Friday Faves - 2.28

On Vacation Expectations

Happy Friday, friends!

As I am writing this, I am sitting outside at a villa in Jamaica, fresh from my outdoor shower, drinking a Red Stripe Light. And my kids are both watching something on their iPads. Talk about a happy hour.

I feel so lucky to be able to go on vacations with my kids, as those moments are some of my favorite memories with my own family, but a beach vacation really highlights the pre and post kid vibes.

Pre-Kids, I would sit on the beach and read book after book. Barely moving except to float in the water with my book. Don’t get my wrong, I love an adventure trip, but a beach vacation rotting in the sand with a beer and a book is a special kind of wonderful.

I’ve struggled a bit with letting go of my expectations for my own relaxation on this trip. This isn’t our first trip to this resort, but it is the first where I am not terrified of my kids near the water. At 3 and 6, they’re both extremely competent swimmers for their age, and I definitely had expectations of much more hands off parenting this trip while they romp in the shallow and very calm water (with water wings).

However, on the first day, I sat at the water’s edge, feet in the ocean, desperately trying to focus on my book as my kids kept running up, spraying sand and saltwater. ‘Mom! Watch this!’ ‘Mom! Come see!’ ‘Can we go to the pool?’ All I wanted was to lose myself in my book, while the waves lapped at my toes.

That night, during my meditation, their voices played back in my head: All day I felt like I kept saying - ‘Hold on.’ ‘In a minute.’ And I kept getting frustrated with them, even though they were just being eager kids at the beach, wanting my attention while I clutched my own agenda with white knuckles.

The next morning, I told my husband I was going to be ‘Yes Mom.’

Yes to sandcastles. Yes to jumping off the floating dock. Yes to playing on the float with my daughter and her kissing me and saying ‘we’re having so much fun, mom’ multiple times. And you know what? During rest time, I still got my two hours of peaceful reading - floating in the water, book in hand, feeling not just relaxed, but deeply content.

Bottom line, I’m not yet at sideline parenting at the beach yet. Sometime soon, well get there. For now, I’m letting go of that, and just going with the flow is absolutely worth it.

And sometimes, the sweetest moments of peace come after you’ve said yes to the chaos.

Alright - now for a few quick favorites from a week in the sun - I have a whole post on packing, but that’s for next week!

Water Wings - We brought these with us, and I am so happy we did. The beach at this resort is very calm and very shallow, and while my kids are very competent swimmers for their ages, these help them to be independent in the water, with close observation from us. Also since they’re USCGA Approved, my son can use them for snorkeling.

Ear Plugs and Band - My youngest is an ear tube child, and per the doctor, if we’re in the ocean, she needs ear plugs. If anyone has tried this struggle, I see you. The best way we can get her to keep her ear plugs in is to wear this ear band and these plugs. I’m not a stickler about this at home, but in a foreign country, the last thing we need is an ear infection.

Zipper Pouches - I continue to sing the praises of these, and we have put them to use this trip. We have a number of pouches in our beach bag - the adult things (kindle, airpods, phones), the kids ear plugs and other things, sunscreen, etc.

Stylest Suit - I shared this the other day, and I am truly obsessed. It is so comfortable, even for a full day at the beach chasing around kids. I felt like my boobs were secure, and my butt was never on display. I would 100% recommend.

Sunscreen - I had a lot of my FSA to burn through with my job change, and I bought a ton of sunscreen. These are a few of our favorites - Pipette, Anthelios Kids, Hello Bello - and then I brought my Ultra Violette Sunscreen that I’m obsessed with.

What’s for Dinner

This vacation is amazing for a number of reasons, but one of them is that we have all meals made for us by the chef at the villa. She’s a fantastic cook, and also incredibly gracious and has taught me how to make soufflé, Jerk, and the best carrot cake I’ve ever had.

More A Day In Her Life:

• ICYMI - This week’s episode, A Day In Her Life with Amelia Deitchman is such an incredible listen. Amelia is a professor and researcher trying to cure AIDS at UC San Francisco. She lives in Florida, and I appreciated hearing about her cross country career, her home systems, and how she makes it all work. Don’t miss this one.

• One Year Ago - A Day In Her Life with Suzanne Shade! This episode was fascinating to hear how Suzanne founded and continues to grow Bare Hands. She is a mother of a high school aged daughter living in San Francisco with her husband.

• If you love romance novels, follow something new I’m working on with my friend Anna over on @pepper_books! We’re looking for feedback on our MVP, so would love if you’d take a second to complete this quick survey!

Thanks for being here! If you like what you read, there’s a few ways you can support A Day In Her Life!

🎙️ - Listen and Subscribe to A Day In Her Life wherever you get your podcasts

⭐️ - If you like what you hear, leave us a review! I will ❤️ you forever

💌 - Share the Podcast or this Newsletter with a friend so you’ll have someone to chat with about all the fun stuff you hear/read!

📩 - Subscribe below to get this newsletter to your inbox every week!

🔗 - Some of the links included in this newsletter are affiliate links, meaning if you purchase something, I may receive a (small) percentage. I only share things I love, and I am incredibly grateful for your support.