Back in June, we were supposed to take a family trip to Cancun, but then, you know, COVID. So we moved it to September break, but then, you know, COVID...So we once more moved it to December and crossed our fingers that we would be able to go. I'm pretty sure that I thought we would never be able to go because I scheduled it for the week before school got out for Christmas (which I swore I would never take my kids out early from school for vacation...).
And here we are, slightly more sun-kissed than we were a week ago, having just spent a refreshing week at Akumal (just south of Cancun).
Shortly before leaving, we showed Home Alone to the kids for the first time (which they loved, by the way). I've never taken this type of trip at Christmas time before, and I have to admit that all I could think of before we went was the plot from Home Alone: accidentally leaving a child behind to fend for himself at home in the rush to make the flight, a ploy to rob our home of all of our Christmas gifts being foiled by said left-behind child, and the Wet Bandits flooding the house on their way out. So just to be on the safe side, we arranged timers for the Christmas lights, had the neighbors check on the house daily, and double, triple and quadruple head counted everyone on the way to the airport to be sure we did not leave Judson behind.
We indeed did all make it to the airport for what was the kids' very first flight and first international trip. The were a little apprehensive at first, but as soon as they were hooked up to the movies playing, they forgot that we were flying miles in the sky (just like I do). They did great and actually enjoyed flying!
Once we arrived at our resort, we spent most of the time playing in the pool, teaching yoga classes (just me), and meandering through the resort to our next meal, with a few beach trips and excursions thrown in from time to time.
One such excursion was when we got roped into this time-share sort of talk in exchange for visiting the most opulent resort either of us had ever seen. The deal was that we had to listen to the presentation, then they would arrange for our transportation to and from the resort and give us all day passes to their resort, which included access to their many amenities and restaurants. Yes, the "presentation" was 90 minutes long, but the extravagant food and fun that we enjoyed because of it made it worth it. (And, in case, you were wondering, we were able to resist the Jedi mind tricks of the salesmen and got out without being roped in, which feels like something to brag about for some reason. I don't recommend this for any couple without a united front and the strongest of backbones.). The waterpark was great. The over the top arcade was fantastic. The food was unbelievable. But the best part? Definitely when they sent us back to our resort in a stretch limousine! We were just waiting at the front entrance for our ride when the limousine pulls in front. Tony commented something along the lines of, "I wonder what famous person is in that limousine." And then, come to find out, we were the famous people riding around in the limousine! They kids were ecstatic and spent most of the hour long ride singing Jingle Bells at the top of their lungs. I'm sure the driver was sad to see us go.
We also took a day trip to Tulum to see the ancient Mayan ruins. The Mayans knew what they were doing because they placed their buildings on the most beautiful cliff overlooking the beach and turquoise waters. The kids enjoyed this too, perhaps because all of the buildings were crawling with iguanas. Judson, our budding paleontologist (or maybe archaeologist?) was begging to go look inside the ruins (which was sadly not allowed). We may have taken a wrong turn at the exit which led us down a couple mile long hike by the local beach resorts. But we did eventually make it back where we were supposed to be!
In case you were wondering what it was like going on vacation to an all-inclusive resort during a pandemic, it actually felt quite safe. Everyone wore masks inside, they took your temperature multiple times per day, hand sanitizer was everywhere, everything was cleaned around the clock, and everyone kept their distance...well, almost everyone kept their distance. There were some notable exceptions in the form of wildlife: lemurs, peacocks, iguanas, and agoutis were ubiquitous and got quite close at times.
Overall, the trip was a big hit. It felt a little strange sitting by the pool the week before Christmas, but isn't "a little (or a lot) strange" par for the course for 2020 anyways?
My favorite part of the trip was realizing that these three little humans that God has blessed us with are actually starting to turn into fun little people that I truly enjoy spending time with. (I mean, they were even singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" in a round with me in the limo!) That's not to say that I didn't enjoy spending time with them before, but it feels different now. As in, I would actually choose to spend time with them, not just because they're my kids, because they're enjoyable people to be around. Isn't that what a large part of our job as parents is anyways - to mold our children into interesting, smart, thoughtful and kind people who love God and their neighbors? It just became evident to me on this trip that we were headed in the right direction, which fills my heart with joy and thankfulness.
We may not take this type of a trip in December again, but I'm so glad we did this year!
