It has been a very long winter in Buffalo, NY where I live. The amount of gray cold rainy days has been way too many for me. I was dreaming of getting away to the sunshine. Spring break was coming, and Seth and I were discussing what we wanted to do.
Tip: If you are like me and crave warmth and sunshine, take at least one vacation to a warm climate over the winter if you can!
I asked my oldest Max what he wanted to do, and he said he wanted to go to Cornell’s student acceptance day.
I asked my oldest daughter Ella what she wanted to do for spring break, and she said she wanted to study. I couldn’t believe it. Was I the only one who wanted to go away?
My youngest Lillie asked me what we were doing for spring break. I told her we were going to explore Ithaca for a couple of days to go to Cornell’s student acceptance day. The look on her face was not so happy. Lillie has been dragged on a lot of college visits. She tries to be a good sport. I try to build in things that will make her happy. In Syracuse I took her to the mall. In NYC I made sure to do fun things with her. I’ve been trying and I’ve also noticed that she doesn’t love these college visits like the rest of us do. Ella was eating it all up. Ella has already booked two college visits for herself in June. She can’t wait!
My husband Seth and I were discussing spring break. I told him I wanted to go to Florida. He didn’t seem thrilled. He also didn’t seem thrilled to go back to Disney World. It just doesn’t excite him. He wanted to stay home and work. Max and Ella wanted to stay home. What about taking Lillie to Florida? I’m not sure if I thought of it or if Seth thought of it. I will never forget Lillie’s face when I asked her if she wanted to go to Florida with me for spring break. I will never forget when she realized it was going to be just her and I. The smile she had was worth millions and is stored away in my memory bank forever.
Tip: Plan a trip with one of your children. The quality time makes them feel so special and is magical. Something that you and your child will never forget.
I started to research Disney resorts. I knew I wanted to take her to Magic Kingdom for a day. I knew we would want to lay out and enjoy the sunshine and pool. I knew that she would love a day at Disney Springs shopping.
Ideally, I wanted to stay at The Polynesian, and I will one day. I was going to book Port Orleans Riverside resort when Seth realized he had enough points to book us a beautiful Marriott resort close to Disney. I’ll take it.
Seth has traveled a lot for work. Seth has built up a lot of Delta and Marriott points. Seth is a wonderful travel agent. He booked the resort and the plane tickets. The trip was planned, and it was sinking in that we were going to get to get away from this gray weather.
I have been with Seth for 21 years. I have traveled with Seth for 21 years. Seth travels so much that he knows all the travel things. From booking the plane tickets to telling us where to go to booking our uber…I realized in that moment that I sat back and let Seth handle everything except entertainment and restaurants for many years. I wasn’t feeling like the travel pro that Seth is.
“What do you mean that you didn’t book a direct flight?”
“What do you mean that I have to navigate through the Atlanta airport?”
Guess what – I have never taken an Uber without Seth. I don’t even have the app.
In our relationship, we have developed roles. An example is that I go get our food and cook it all. An example is that I do all our laundry. Seth takes out the garbage. Seth pays all our bills. Seth books all our travel. We have settled into roles that work for us. We are a well oiled machine but…..
Tip: Dividing roles in a relationship is great – but make sure you know how to do all the things. Do you know how to pay the bills? Do you know how to book an Uber?
It puts the other person at a disadvantage when we aren’t used to doing all the stuff that our partner does. I realized that much like our finances; I relied on Seth too much for travel. I rely on Seth, and I rely on my son Max. Max is 18 years old. When we went to NYC, I told Max where we were going and then we all followed Max to the destination. In Disney World, I told Max where we were going, and Max took us there. He has become an expert navigator. I realized that I had really let Seth and Max handle a lot of things for years that I was now going to have to do myself.
The thing about me is that I may get anxious or scared about something, and then I want to challenge myself and do it anyway. I’m not going to tell you that there was no anxiety. I can’t tell you the last time I flew on a plane without my husband. I knew that I could do it. I knew that it would be amazing. I knew that it was time to rise to the challenge and show myself what I could handle.
Tip: It’s ok to feel anxious or uncertain about something. It takes practice at most things to feel confident. Let yourself be anxious, nervous, uncertain about whatever it is and then push yourself to do it anyway. You can’t gain confidence without experience.
Seth reminded me that he was a platinum Delta member (separate line) and that we both had TSA pre. I was ready! I made Seth get to the Buffalo airport early even though he told me it would take ten minutes. Was he right? Yes! Did I want to be early anyway? Yes!
We made it to the Atlanta airport. We hopped onto the tram and found our gate. We hopped on another plane and made it to Orlando. We found our luggage quickly! We used the Uber app for the first time successfully. We made it to our beautiful hotel. We checked in and walked into our hotel room. I did it. Every time we tackle things we build our confidence. I knew that I was nervous. I knew that I could do it. I proved it to myself. Seth said, “I’m so proud of you.” It felt really good, and I thought – I’m really proud of me too!
Tip: It’s wonderful to get praise from the people in our lives. It’s even more wonderful to give yourself some praise. Once in a while I want you to look into the mirror and say, “Good job me!”
I proceeded to get us everywhere we needed and wanted to be. I decided after some sun and pool time that I wanted to go explore Disney resorts. Lillie is a fun travel companion. She is up for anything. She told me that she really wanted dole whip. We started at the Polynesian, and she got her dole whip. We walked around and checked out the beach, the pools, the restaurants and the paths. We took the path to the Grand Floridian. We explored the paths and stores and hopped on the monorail to the Contemporary. Not only did we explore the Contemporary, but we also got reservations at Chef Mickey’s. When you only have two people you can get reservations anywhere!
Tip: If there is a restaurant that you want to go to in Orlando – in Disney, a hotel, etc…it is so much easier to do a walk up reservation anywhere when it is just two people. I could have taken Lillie to eat anywhere!
The next day was our Magic Kingdom day and we were so excited! I told Lillie that she could go on any ride that she wanted and that I would wait in any line with her. It was nice for her because her sister doesn’t love rides, and I let her go on whatever she wanted. It was nice because neither of us minded the long lines. It was wonderful traveling with Lillie, the fun bus because she partied with me all day at Magic Kingdom.
We had lunch together at Be Our Guest. We had dinner together at Crystal Palace. We stood outside and watched the fireworks, and I couldn’t believe that I made it to the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. My family always wanted to leave before the fireworks and Lillie, and I were going strong.
I am also happy and surprised to report that I remembered where everything was at Magic Kingdom and got us to all the rides and restaurants. I couldn’t believe I remembered! I was busy impressing myself!
Tip: Going to a theme park with only the child who loves rides is a totally different experience!
From pool time with friends to Disney Springs to more pool time…..we had an amazing time together. We both love to go go go. We both love to shop. We both love pool time. We both love theme parks. We are very well matched travelers.
I love to travel as a family. I really missed Seth, Max and Ella. I wish I could have brought my parents to Florida too(my mom doesn’t fly). I found myself missing them and sad they weren’t there.
Tip: Seth gave me this advice when I got home but I wish he would have given it to me while I was in Florida. He told me that I need to be where my feet are. He has given me that very helpful advice before. I was missing him instead of being present in Florida with Lillie.
Despite missing my family, I had an amazing time with Lillie. It was a trip that Lillie and I will always remember. It is something that I could see us doing again. I’m hoping next time my whole family heads to Universal Studios because Ella wants to go to Nintendo World. I see many more adventures ahead.
With Max going off to college, I know that all five of us won’t always be together. This feels like a meaningful moment where I learn to enjoy whatever family member or friend is with me.
Be present.
Make the plans.
Go on the trip.
Feel free to schedule a vacation with one child or just your spouse.
Be creative.
Make it work best for your family. We made spring break work for our family, and it looked very different for all five of us.
From Buffalo to Ithaca to Buffalo to Orlando and back to Buffalo. It was a spring break I will always treasure and remember. I can’t end without a big huge giant thank you to my amazing husband for allowing me to take Lillie on a magical vacation.
Now go book a vacation!
Laughing, Learning, Loving,
Rebecca Greene, LCSW-R
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