V is for Vacation Disasters

R.a.n.t. of day 04/25/15

Once in a while we all need to get away. Sometimes we need to get away from a stressful job. Other times we may need to get away from the city we are living in. But have you ever had the need to get away from the vacation you are currently on? Growing up, we had one such vacation. My father had just remarried and funds were at a minimum. He did the best he could manage to take us somewhere that Summer. I didn't appreciate it at the time, none of us kids did. At the time we all complained. Following are two shameful excerpts from the journal I was keeping at the time.

K.A.T.Y. Entry: 07-24-02-08-34-89 04
'...here we have the family, a murky lake, a generator that can only be run for several hours at night, a row boat with a slow leak in it, and hardly any gas left to make it around to the nearest town. So far, the best time here is at night when the generator goes out and all the stars are visible. It looks truly awesome. And last night we had a jolly campfire, well a campfire.'

K.A.T.Y. Entry: 07-28-06-08-25-89 05
'And so this is the last day our family is suppose to be up at this "fun" vacation. Actually everyone wants to leave and are happy we are leaving a day early. I - well I like it here except I hate this drinking water, fun is limited, to many bugs and not any friends here. I was greatly pleased the other day when it began to rain. Also the day before my father took me to a most excellent fishing spot.'

It's interesting to note, though I was complaining in each entry, I also found something positive to talk about. I read those entries now and regret what I wrote. My dad was doing the best he could. The description doesn't even sound that bad. I love star gazing, camp fires, appreciating the wilderness and time alone to read (I was reading the Diary of Anne Frank at the time). So what was I complaining about? Maybe it wasn't so bad after all. Maybe I should have told my father I appreciated the vacation instead of complaining about it. But I never did.

Yes, the vacation was bad. However, the family and I, we still talk about them. We laugh now, more than anything else. Teasing my brother about losing his glasses in the lake from swatting at flies. Or one of the twins sisters stepping into a pile of mud and screaming, thinking she was going to be sucked under. Of course she only lost a shoe. Then the youngest, (age nine at the time), was terrified and screaming because I told him the frog sounds he heard was 'Banjo Joe'. Apparently he thought Banjo Joe was a deranged, axe wielding maniac who was going to kill us in our sleep. Such funny memories. But isn't that what happens years after a bad experience? You laugh it off.  Sometimes that's all you can do to keep from crying.

Some questions for discussion:
Have you ever had a vacation disaster?
What would be your ideal vacation?
Ever laugh at things now that years ago seemed traumatic?
Ever playfully scare a sibling or friend into believing something that wasn't true?