I'm going to Cyprus on Saturday for a week and instead of bouncing about with excitement all I notice is the stuff I won't be packing.
April 2009 I took all the kids away for our first family holiday. We went to Tunisia and Kieron was more excited about seeing camels than anything else. Shopping for clothes became part of the overall thrill, with Kieron needing new trunks, t shirts and shorts, as well as colouring books and pens for on the plane and a couple of carefully chosen Nintendo DS games.
Lists were everywhere, with sun block, Dioralite, Imodium, Calpol, plasters and antiseptic sprays taking precedence. Kieron was in charge of his backpack with the necessary plane supplies, as well as tugging along a small suitcase and tripping everyone up.
Leaving home in the early hours of the morning, whispering so that we didn't wake the neighbours and driving to Gatwick. Kieron getting bored and tired of queuing to check in, irritating his brother with his silliness. Jade's boyfriend taking Kieron off to the toilets in case he got lost and sharing car magazines with both boys. Spending a fortune on sweets in departures and trying to keep Kieron occupied or encouraging him to go to sleep so that we could have 5 minutes peace.
Getting on the plane and watching Kieron's face as the plane took off and stopping him and Callum squabbling out of boredom. Seeing Tunisia for the first time and looking forward to giving my kids a great holiday, was all I wanted for them, even though I was worn out by the time we arrived.
It sounds too stressful to be enjoyable but how I wish I was packing Calpol, computer games and colouring books this time.
{{Janine}} I found going on holiday without Catherine for the first time last March really terrible. Firsts are hard, but I think there is something more about holidays - I hated that I was going to "enjoy" myself; I hated that Catherine would miss out... and I hated that lots of people would ask daft questions like "Did you have a good holiday?"
ReplyDeleteI wish you were packing calpol and colouring books too xx
I went away a couple of times last year, just to give my head a rest, but that was to my apartment in Tunisia and I still had the 'shock buffer'. At least on my own I could howl when I wanted, but this time I'm going with a good friend who knows that I might need time out to offload. If nothing else, it's a break from routine.
ReplyDeleteThe worst part will be seeing all these little Cypriot boys who will look just like Kieron.