Vacations Are Over Too Soon

So last week, we went to Walt Disney World in Orlando.  It was a fantastic week of course.  The excitement starts a few months before and the anticipation builds.  Then there are the wonderful moments at the start of the vacation.  The first time we cross the line into Florida, the first time we check into the resort, the first moment we walk into the Magic Kingdom and walk down Main Street.

Of course during the vacation sometimes it's hard for me not to think about the fact that soon all of this joy will be over and we'll be on our way back to our normal lives.  On the first few days of the trip it's still good and I keep thinking "we've still got 5 more days".  Then comes that point at which you realize that the vacation is more than half over and the fun will have to end soon.  I made a conscious effort on this past trip to just live in the moment and push such thoughts out of my head.  Better memories will come of enjoying each day to the fullest and not thinking about the fact that it will end.

We've been back for almost a week now.  I looked at my daughter who is now 13 and was thinking that in a few years she can help drive on vacations.  Then it hit me.  Her childhood and time living with us is more than half over.  I love both of my daughters and I love the times we spend together.  Every day of it.  I love hearing the thoughts they have, jokes they make and just seeing their personalities grow stronger.  It's very sad for me to think that some day they will be grown up and then I will only see them a couple of times a week if I'm lucky, maybe once a month or less if their lives lead them away.  I know that I will miss these times when I get to see them every day when I come home from work and they ask me "What are we going to do daddy?"

Then the thought hit me, my children's childhood is just like a magical vacation.  It's a wonderful magical time that doesn't last forever.  It starts out with a lot of excitement and the feeling that it will last forever but time seems to pass quickly.  I'm not sure that life after kids will be as enjoyable and I will surely miss them.  But rather than spend time being sad about the fact that it's temporary, I want to make the most of every day and enjoy every moment.  It's late at night now but I'm looking forward to getting up in the morning and finding out what we will do together.