For the last seven days or so, I've been woken up every morning by my son bounding into my room and shouting the same question. "Are we going on vacation today?" Today I was finally able to say yes before turning over and grabbing a few more minutes of sleep.The sad thing is that we're not going on vacation today. We're just going up to Vermont for the weekend, not even a three day weekend. We're just driving up tonight, skiing tomorrow and a half-day on Sunday. I've explained this to him and he understands that this is not going to be longer than a regular weekend. His excitement level was not diminished in the slightest. He's looking forward to skiing, but mostly, he's just elated that we're going away.When my oldest was little, we took her everywhere. She traveled to France, Greece, and many Caribbean Islands before she was three years old. Sitting in an open suitcase was one of her favorite games. But as we added kids to our brood and I reduced my working hours, our budget shrunk proportionately. We went from jetting off to Paris for four-day weekends to considering a two-night stay in Vermont as a major getaway.My son's attitude has inspired me to turn over a new leaf, even during these trying economic times. He made me realize that we don't need to go somewhere exotic and expensive to have fun. The novelty of leaving our home for a night or two is thrilling, regardless of the destination. Budget hotels with indoor pools and ice machines will seem like 4-star hotels in my children's eyes. And although I would be thrilled to be sitting on a pristine beach looking at turquoise water, as long as my children are enthused and happy, a weekend away anywhere is a hit in my book.This is an original Traveling Mom blog post. In addition to being the Traveling Food Mom, Vanessa Druckman also blogs at her personal blog, Chefdruck Musings.

< Prev		Next >