We’ve all heard the funny sayings about how vacations with kids aren’t vacations, they’re ‘trips’ or just parenting in a new location. I think it’s a great perspective to have, since it helps to set expectations. Tom and I have traveled to beaches where we sat in the sun all day and read book after book. That was relaxing. We’ve also toured cities where we walked tens of thousands of steps a day and saw every every sight we wanted to. We’ve been there, done that. And we know that this season of life isn’t either of those. (And we’re okay with it).
Our recent trips have been very kid focused and friendly. Visits to or with family, where we have extra adults and very easy schedules. We incorporate naps and play time and nothing too hard. Even when we go places around home, we do easy trips. We go to the library after nap time when everyone is happy, and we don’t stay too long. We’re not the parents who attempt big things. We keep it easy and safe for the most part.
But we might have gone temporarily insane recently when daycare told us they were closing for a long weekend that would mean 5 days home for us. That seemed like a long time to be home and try to entertain three children, so in a moment of mania, we booked a hotel in the city. You might remember we tried a Boston trip before, when we had one fewer child. It ended up being cold and rainy the entire time so we didn’t do much, but the kids still had fun and talk about it to this day.
So this time we figured we’d try a different end of Boston and see how it goes. Which is how we ended up in Copley square the first half of labor day weekend. There were a lot of unknowns heading into it - would the kids sleep? Would they be able to keep up with walking? Would they be interested in anything? Would they eat whatever food we could find, since it probably wasn’t going to be kraft mac and cheese…
So as nervous as we were, we went with absolutely no plans and said we’d play it by ear.
We started on Thursday after Kindergarten orientation (more on that later!) and then headed into the city. The number one thing the kids wanted to do was eat ice cream, so we headed to the Prudential Center and found Ben & Jerry’s. E & G picked their flavors and F got a cup of whipped cream. Everyone started off the trip nice and happy. Next we hit up the interior courtyard, since we figured that was a great place for the kids to be able to run in a nice contained place. We finished the night with Shake Shack and crawled into bed with a movie.
We’d gotten a one bedroom suite, which gave F a room where she could sleep uninterrupted and then two queen beds for the rest of us - with Tom and I each taking a child. My hope was that we could put on a movie and the kids would just fall asleep to it, which didn’t quite happen, but we did eventually all sleep enough.
Friday we started the day with a trip to the “Make Way for Ducklings” statues in the public gardens. We’ve been reading the book a bit lately, and it was fun for them to play on the statues. A plus of being awake so early is that we were the only ones there. The kids also enjoyed seeing the Hancock tower up close, and trying to look all the way up to the top.
Other highlights of the day included heading to the Christian Science center to see the reflection pool, fountain, and I finally got to see the Mapparium in person! It’s something I’ve wanted to go see since I was in college down the street, but I never was able to convince anyone to go with me. Bringing the kids, though, was amazing. F oohed and pointed at everything. E knew enough about maps to recognize where we live, and G loved the lights and sounds. It was just an awesome thing to be able to experience with them, and I was pleasantly surprised at how welcoming everyone was to children.
Friday night the kids were so tired from walking all day, that they fell asleep much easier and slept so much better. We were able to walk around some more the next morning before staying about an hour too long in the city before heading home. We knew it was about time to head home, but got delayed a bit by some hungry children. By the time we were checking out and waiting for our car, F was screaming non stop and letting us know how tired she was (You could hear her in the elevator three floors away). The older two were worn out too, but barely holding it together. We managed to throw everyone in the car and down for naps as soon as we got home. F was still fussy all day from over stimulation, but overall I think it was a successful trip. The older two kept up so well, and meltdowns were minimal. F was living her best life and amazed at everything she saw. Tom said she seemed ready to get a back bay apartment and move out.
I’m proud of us for attempting something hard, and exposing our children to the big world out there. And for finding something fun to do on a long weekend. Baby steps!
