Last week I went on vacation to California with my wife and two sons. Angie and I have usually stayed in pretty cheap hotels, because we don’t spend much time in the hotel. So, I booked the cheapest hotel I could find that I thought wouldn’t be filthy. It wasn’t filthy, but I referred to it while we were there as the “roach motel”. I was thinking that it was a mistake now that we have kids to stay in such a hotel. We spent more time in the room because of naps and just general maintenance of kids (you parents know what I’m talking about), instead of the get in, sleep, get out that Angie and I use to do. The last day of the trip we asked our 3 year old what his favorite part of the trip was. We were expecting it would be a certain ride, or Mickey Mouse, or the beach, which we knew he had enjoyed tremendously. He said, “The hotel.” At first we thought he might be confused about the questions. But, as we talked to him about it, I think we figured out why he liked it so much. We were all in one little 10x15 room for at least 4-5 awake hours a day. We were wrestling, laughing, mixing up our sleeping together on the small beds, snuggling, and even eating some meals on our beds together. We concluded that the reason the hotel was his favorite part was because of our closeness all week. Now, Angie stays home, spends a lot of time with and has a lot of fun with the boys. I play with the boys almost every day, a little bit like I did in the hotel. But, something about our closeness of proximity in that little, not so nice hotel, made it a special experience for him.
I could probably come up with more lessons that this could teach. Maybe you’ll think of some of those. But, these are the first lessons that struck us.
1)We don’t have a huge home, but it confirmed, what we’ve learned through other avenues, that we don’t need even what we have, to be happy as a family.
2)The insatiable appetite of kids for the attention and affection of their parents. It’s more meaningful to them than great entertainment.
What might this mean for your perspective, for your lifestyle?
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