You are here

The Light at the End of the Tunnel: Hellish Vacation

JRI's picture

The recent blogs about hellish vacations have reminded me of mine.  Back on the '70s, i naively thought it would be a good idea to plan a vacation for all 7 of us.  I booked a big cabin at a nearby lake.  DH's friend generously offered to lend his outboard motor boat.

We packed our van & took off.  I can't remember what the 3 boys were doing in back (these were pre-carseat days) but whatever it was, DH was incensed.  He yelled at them half the way there.

The plan was to meet our friend & his family at their clubhouse to firm up arrangements.  Their place was in a compound that included a rec center.  We sent the boys to the rec center but soon they were back.  In record time, they had broken the pinball machine.

We checked onto our cabin.  Things seemed to be going as well as you can expect with 5 kids so close in age.  One day, we did gokarts, one day we did all the rides, etc.

The day we got the boat, DH wanted to teach each child to water ski.  We found a secluded cove and each one was able to get up.  But then something went wrong.  After OSS being told repeatedly to keep his rope away from the motor, guess what? Much more cursing & yelling from DH who was frantically trying to fix it.  Next thing I saw was water coming up in the boat!

I can't swim & thought it was my last day.  Luckily, we were able to get to a big rock where we were rescued.  Many $$$ later, the boat was fixed & returned to our friend.  When i got back to the cabin, i thought, should I go home now & call a divorce lawyer? Or should I wait til I get home then call a divorce lawyer?

When I went to my next therapy appointment, i told my counselor about the trip and my shattered dream.  He said, "JRI, there's fantasy, then there's reality".

Later vacations weren't so bad and I'm trying to think why.  Once the SKs moved in, everything was smoother without all the back and forth.  Also, they got older.  We often brought a friend or 2 and that helped (those kids were so well-behaved & their parents never believed it),  i learned to bring something for myself, art supplies, journal, books.

Whenever I read about vacations on Steptalk, i flash back.  It gets better, guys.  Hang in there.

Comments

NoWireCoatHangarsEVER's picture

I had a big nasty break up in the parking of the Caribbean Beach Resort at Walt Disney World.  I had been blogging about the hell i was experiencing on those little hammocks on their fake beach throughout the day.  I ended the day by driving off with my kids and we stopped at the McDonalds on Disney property for me to cry it out and type out the hell I had just gone through on my ipad to my Steptalk friends.  They got me through it and other tough times in Stephell.  

They didn't try and drown me with their incompetence.  I had paid for the whole trip and had two rooms side by side at the Resort.  I also paid for the step daughter whose birthday it was to have a friend there with her.  It was a sh*t ton of money.  They had gone off for daddy daughter alone time over and over and over again throughout that day and throughout the vacation and I was fine with that.  I wasn't fine when they swam over to me in the hotel pool and told me that they still wanted to go to the dinner reservations I had made for all of us.  They just didn't wan't me and my three little girls to go.  They still wanted me to pay for it.  I don't even know how many years ago that was now.  I think my middle child was 3 or four at the time and she's 11 now.  That was the last time they got any vacation on me.  

 

 

TheAccidentalSM's picture

NWCH, that is a truely horrific way to be treated.  Thank goodness you picked up and left.

I blogged about my last trip with any of the SSs here.  Just re-read them and it brought back how mentally stressed I was at that time.    It was so bad and effected my general health too.

https://www.steptalk.org/blog/theaccidentalsm/fun-snow-213746

https://www.steptalk.org/blog/theaccidentalsm/update-pistes-213809

https://www.steptalk.org/blog/theaccidentalsm/update-pistes-part-3-or-wh...

TheAccidentalSM's picture

I can't even explain how insane it felt at the time.  However, it is now just a funny anecdote.  Time helps alot.

JRI's picture

Our kids fondly remember that vacation, more than the pleasanter ones.  Oh well.

JRI's picture

That's terrible!  The nerve!