Vacation

We had tentatively and without looking at a calendar decided to go on a mini vacation September 1st and 2nd. All the sudden we got close to Sept 1 and 2 and there were 2 soccer games, a scrimmage and a football game, High School Orientation, Jr High Orientation and a meeting for John with his P.O. all in those two days. Bart and I really weren't excited about the idea of battling the Labor Day weekend crowds, but we had been planning a vacation and "promised" the kids one, so we now are heading to an amusement park today, spending the night, and hitting the Mall of America. We had originally thought about doing the State Fair instead of the mall, until we found out how much it costs per person to get it.

So now we have several children who are disappointed that we can't go to the Fair as well. I won't state how much this weekend is going to cost, because I'm sure you realize that with 14 people going, even at the lowest price of the season... and 3 hotel rooms ... and meals .... that it isn't going to be cheap. We plan to have a picnic for one meal, which will bring moans and groans and whines from several, but the food there is so incredibly expensive.

When I was growing up we went to the amusement park one time a year -- on Labor Day in fact -- because it was free admission (that was before everyone paid ten thousand dollars per person to get in whether they were riding rides or not). My parents bought a few tickets, all that they could afford, and we selectively chose which rides to ride. We never bought a single food or drink item at the park, way too expensive. I can still remember eating peanut butter and jelly or cold American cheese sandwiches. And you know what, we were GRATEFUL. We seriously did not complain or even ask my parents for more. We never considered asking to invite a friend to come alone or to ask if we could have more tickets or buy food from the stands. By the time we were 6 or 7 years old we understood it was a sacrifice.

So why are some of my children so difficult to please? What is it about them that nothing is ever enough? Has society created this dissatisfaction? Is it our parenting? Or have we simply given them so much that nothing is a treat any more?

OK, feeling better to have gotten that off my chest. Would be interested in your ideas. Do you have kids like some of mine that absolutely refuse to be satisfied no matter how much they have?

Oh well, at least they are cute. And I've been triple dog dared to leave my computer at home for the next two days, so you'll go without blog posts. You can follow the journey on Twitter if you wish.