Spur of the Moment Joys - Reality Check! (Fantasy vs Real Life)

Today's post is part 2 of "Spur of the Moment Joys - A Great Addition To Everyday Life".  As you know, I had planned a last minute getaway with the family to Ottawa for this past weekend.  I will start off by saying that overall, it was a great break from our regular routine and the kids had a blast.  We had fun too, but let's look at the fantasy I had for the weekend vs what really transpired...

Fantasy:  kids are delighted to roam the museums, they are entranced by all of the interactive fun exhibits, they listen as we explain all of the cool things we are seeing.  Arrive at nice hotel where room is fantastic and most importantly, the heated indoor salt water pool and 2-storey water slide are beyond fun.  Skating on Rideau Canal brings laughter and adventure, kids have rosy cheeks and big smiles. Eating out with no fuss or mess while we enjoy some real quality family time.  Return home from great adventure buoyed by good spirits and renewed energy.

Reality:  Let's first start by saying my kids were very excited and kept asking about the beach in Ottawa and that they hate winter and couldn't wait to be out of the snow.  Uh oh.  Like I said, we usually plan our family vacations well in advance and they are usually to either Mexico or Florida.  Hmm... needed to explain that Ottawa was only 2 hours from home and that it was also cold.  They were very confused and couldn't seem to grasp this idea.  It took a few tries.

Arrived in Ottawa and  we go direct to the Canadian Museum of Civilization.  Everyone is happy to be there and to get out of the car.  We buy the tickets and off we go.  But one kid runs off in one direction, and one in the other.  Hubby and I split up each trying to keep a child in sight.  Thank goodness for bbm or we would never find each other.  Kids don't stay long enough at any one thing to actually learn something.  Myles makes a beautiful drawing in "colouring to music" and Charley accidentally cuts it up during "make your own kaleidoscope".  Tears, tears and more tears.  All in all, a good time at the museum. 

After the museum, we go for lunch at a Chinese restaurant as we are all starving - kids fight over who gets to sit next to mommy.  Mommy puts chair at end of table so she is in the middle.  Kids fight over who gets green pen who gets blue pen to draw on paper on table.  Upset that restaurant doesn't offer crayons.  Noodles arrive but need to pick all green things out.  Forgot to order without green things.  No tears.  Phew.  All in all, good lunch.

Arrive at Delta hotel with GREAT expectations.  Room is not ready.  Children are whining and tired and want to swim.  Standing at front desk for forty five minutes as they try to sort out room.  Finally get in room only to arrive and it is not 1 bedroom suite as reserved, but single room.  Husband goes downstairs to yell.  Another 20 minutes later we are in 2 bedroom suite that has definitely seen too many bachelor parties.  Husband is grossed out and puts sheets over everything in  the room and towels all over the floor.  Still with great expectations, I take kids down to pool - they are soooo excited to swim.  Get to pool... where is great big indoor, heated salt water pool with 2-storey water slide???  I nearly choke on my dismay as reality sets in.  Very small pool with about 30 people swimming and about 18 of them in whirlpool (oh right, it's spring break... crap).  Water slide is separate, not heated (rather, they needed to add water and so it wasn't heated yet).  Kids still want to get in and as a good sport, I say OK.  Husband arrives after us and nearly dies.  He is also good sport and gets in, all the while telling me we are going to catch e-coli or some other deadly disease. 

Dinner out is great, except kids are fighting over who gets to sit next to mommy.  So all 3 of us squish in on one side of the booth and each fights over who gets to put their head on mommy's lap.  They bump heads. More tears and screaming.  Finally separate them.  They are practically falling asleep at the table.  Eat fast and leave.  Kids fall asleep during 8 minute car ride back to hotel.

Musical beds during the night at hotel.  Need I say more?

Next morning, we head out early for breakfast.  Original plan was to skate on the Rideau Canal but thankfully was given the heads up by a friend that despite mild temperatures when she went, it was about 20 degrees colder when actually skating on the canal.  I saw the writing on the wall.  Instead, opted for the Canada Science & Technology Museum  - this was also fun for the kids but by day 2 of trying not to lose kids in crowd and splitting up once again... less fun for mom and dad.

On the road home by 2:30pm.  Kids fall asleep exhausted.  Mommy sits in passenger seat and wants to rest but keeps one eye open in case daddy accidentally takes rest.   

Lessons learned...

Probably could have just taken the kids swimming at the pool in Grandma Betty's assisted living building.  It's brand new, nobody uses it, it's really hot in case old people do want to use it, and it's about 3 minutes from home (defnitely no spring break crowd there). 

One museum per weekend is PLENTY! 

Weekend getaway adventure does not leave you buyoed by good spirits and renewed with energy.  It leaves you exhausted and thrilled to go back to work on Monday morning for a rest.

Conclusion:  Although it was a great adventure over all, my fantasy was definitely not the same as the reality!  I will continue to try and add spur of the moment joys to our everyday lives, but I will keep in mind that when kids are involved, expectations and adventures are a tad bit different than they were when I was the kid growing up.  Reality check, done!

Spur Of The Moment Joys - A Great Addition To Everyday Life

Do you remember when you were a kid and life was full of spur of the moment ideas?  Some of my greatest joys growing up were playing with friends in the neighbourhood where we made up games and went on "explorations", we took unexpected trips to the corner store for a treat, rode our bikes wild, and as I got a bit older, we took some unplanned but fun-filled road trips.  These spur of the moment joys were just about anything where I simply followed my heart, went with the flow and fulfilled a sudden desire. Oh, the carefree days of youth!  I'm feeling nostalgic just thinking about it.

These spur of the moment joys seem to fade as we get older.  Life gets busier, priorities are set, routines are in place... everything is planned.  Well, OK, I'll speak for myself as a major planner in life.  But funny enough, I'm also a spur of the moment kind of a gal and I really don't want to lose this trait - even though I seem to use it less and less. 

Yesterday I was feeling frustrated after a weekend of not really knowing what to do and not doing much.  Although we had a great time with all our family in town, I didn't feel like we really did anything.  Our outings seemed to revolve solely around food - we had everyone over for dinner, we went out for lunch, we walked around the indoor market (which also meant we ate our way around the indoor market), we went out for dinner... you see the theme?  I'm at least happy to say that my husband somehow managed to get the kids outside on Sunday for an hour (after some kicking and screaming) - kudos to him.  But these winter weekends have been starting to bore us and it's been getting me down - we were in a rut.   

So when I got into work yesterday I sat down at my computer and booked a night in a hotel for this coming Saturday night.  Just like that.  I chose a hotel in Ottawa (about a 2 hour drive from home) that has a big salt water pool and a 2-storey water slide.  We've been hearing about the great children's museums in Ottawa, as well as how much fun skating is on the Rideau Canal (the world's largest outdoor skating rink).  I called my husband and told him what I had done and he couldn't have been more thrilled.  Can't wait until Saturday!  

We've never really done anything like this - our trips are always planned well in advance.  I have lots of friends who take these mini trips with their kids and they always sound great, however, we've just never done it.  It's not like I don't have initiative in life, so I'm not really sure why I haven't.  Before I was married and had kids, I used to take those weekend getaways, go out for last minute happy hour get-togethers, an impulsive hike up a mountain to see the sun set, or a walk on the beach after work...  (I was lucky enough to spend some years in Arizona and Vancouver before meeting my husband and moving to Montreal).  If I had to guess why I now do less spur of the moment things, I would say that it's simply outside of my regular routine.  And with a family, it's so much easier to get entrenched in that routine.

I'm really excited about going and spending this fun time with the family, but even more so to see my kids have a blast.  It's so important to me to create wonderful memories for them of their childhood - I would hate for them to think back one day and feel like they never really did fun things with their parents.  I feel this quick trip is a great pick-me-up for all of us, it's a great break from our regular routine, it isn't costing us a lot of money (we got a great deal on the hotel room because we booked last minute) and it's something to look forward to all week.  Although my husband and I did sit in bed last night and plan everything we wanted to do once we got there LOL.  Can't take the plan completely out of the planner!

I think booking this last minute get-away is more than just going away this one weekend and having fun.  It's re-ignited in me the lost passion of my childhood in finding spur of the moment joys in life.  It's a reminder that I have to do this more often.  It doesn't always have to be something big like a road trip, rather, it can be adding smaller spur of the moment joys into my everyday life too.  Whether it's taking the kids for ice cream on a warm summer night, playing a board game instead of watching TV, calling an old friend I haven't spoken to in a while, baking chocolate chip cookies just for the heck of it (i.e. not for the school bake sale the next day)... whatever it may be, I just need to do it (I'm really on board with the Nike campaign lately).  Your spur of the moment joys may differ than mine (i.e. you may think baking cookies is a chore, not a joy!).  But please take this as your reminder too... just get up and do it too - whatever it is!

Here are a few memories of some of my spur of the moment joys:

1.  A last minute trip to Arizona to see friends and family for my 40th b-day (thanks to my hubby who sent me with my then 1 1/2 year old daughter!) - it was a fabulous way to spend a big birthday.

2. A family photo shoot in the park - something I always wanted to do and finally booked spur of the moment.  We had 4 generations, including the dog, present for the afternoon.  The pictures we took that day were beautiful and I will cherish them for years to come (and hopefully my kids will too one day!).

3.  My kid's first trip to an amusement park last summer (Canada's Wonderland).  I used to love going on rides so it was super fun doing so again (I felt like a really big kid, especially on the kid rides).  It was also great seeing the joy in my kids as they experienced their first rides.