One For Them, One For Us. A Family Travel Motto.

While obtaining my psychology degree, I took a course in couples therapy. At the time I was very single, but one thing that has always stuck with me is my professor's lecture on keeping your marriage healthy, while raising children. His number one tip for a healthy marriage was, “if your budget allows, take one week-long vacation as a family and one-week long vacation as a couple”. Do this EVERY year. What’s funny is, years later I took a trip to Jamaica with my now husband and guess who I ran into at the airport, my professor and his wife! With none of their kids in tow.

I don’t think one can truly understand the need for this motto, until you have children. It is so easy to let every day/week/month/year revolve around the kids' needs, their sports, their activities and their happiness. Sure, you try to squeeze in a date night here or there, but those often end up with conversation around said children and it doesn’t really feel like the escape it should.

Once I got married and started having children, I tried to apply that golden advice. Every year we try to do a family vacation and a “just us” vacation. Some years, it’s a challenge. Not everyone’s budget allows for a week-long stay at a fancy all-inclusive and that’s OKAY. Get creative and find a way to just spend some nights together with just the two of you, just like when you first got together or after you got married. Truth is, that IS the moment you started your family and to have a strong family, the parents need to be connected on a level deeper then mastering the week's sports and activity schedule.

This advice stuck out it my head so much, that I tried to plan a night away when my baby was 3 months old. BIG MISTAKE, DON’T DO IT! I was miserable and milking myself like a cow and I just wanted to go back to my baby. However, other than the new-baby periods of time, we have been able to apply my professor’s advice to our marriage. I find that it takes a day or two to truly relax and get back to your couple groove. What do we talk about, if not the kids? Personally, we have fun coming up with names for all the other couples in the resort, “fitness couple, tanning couple, boozey couple, guy/gal/they that looks like (enter any celebrity here) couple” ...etc. We can’t be alone in doing this, right?

So, parents, where is your next family trip? Where will you laugh, learn new things, get frustrated (because parenting on a trip is still parenting) and make amazing memories with your kids? But, more importantly, where is your next “just us” trip? Where you can truly relax, get to know each other again, check-in with your relationship and have fun together.

The Hills Travel Co would be honored to help your family get on board with the “One for us and one for them” motto.

Contact us to book your next family or romantic vacation.