One of the things I want to make sure I always emphasize in this blog is that you don’t have to travel far for a little getaway. Sometimes a tikeventure is right in your backyard or even just a couple hours away.

This weekend we headed up north to Minocqua, Wisconsin, a short three hour drive away.  Minocqua speaks “family” and is a great choice if traveling with little tikes. While there seemed to be plenty of places to stay from hotels to resorts to cabins, we just wanted and standard ‘ol hotel.  Nothing fancy. As long as there was a pool and continental breakfast I was sold.  

When traveling with a child I feel a pool is a must. Plus, our daughter is a fish and loves to swim. So seeing her have fun just makes my day.  On Saturday afternoon we had the whole pool to ourselves.  We pretended to be sharks swimming through the pool searching for fish and attacking each other. Meanwhile, my husband is making tidal waves in the pool like he was a little kid all over again.  

At one point, a little boy was in the lobby of the hotel with his dad peering through the door. You could tell he wanted to come in.  When his dad finally opened the door for him the boy said “I just want to look.”   The dad seemed to be in a hurry and just kept saying “There’s nothing to see. It’s just a pool. It’s just a pool.”  Now, I don’t know the story of that son and father and I’m not going to make assumptions. There have been times when I myself have said “Sweetie, it’s just a ……”  

But, seeing this made me think. Sometimes we’re in such a hurry that we forget to be in the moment with our kids. To a child these little things mean more than “just a pool.” As parents, we need to give in to their curiosity. We need to get excited about the little things that they’re excited about.  And we need to realize that in that moment, they’re vulnerable to adults taking the fun out of life for them.  Our actions impact them for the good or the bad.  And we choose in every moment which way it’s going to go.

For that little boy, I’m sure he forgot about that pool a whole minute later and life went on just as normal.  But sometimes it doesn’t. And sometimes, we miss an opportunity to have an authentically wonderful moment with our kids because we’re too busy.

So take the time to have more moments with your children and instead of saying “It’s just a pool,” trying saying “Let’s Swim.”