and, it has happened...

it has officially happened, the "family vacation" has become not so "family".  gone are the days of making sand castles on the beach, happily hunting for shells as a family and the kids excitedly asking "what are we doing today?"

we have moved on to the days of, "do we have to go there?  can't we just hang out with our friends at the pool?"  it is a hard balance, but one that we have had to make this vacation.  my oldest has found a group of peers that fulfill his conversational and electronic knowledge needs more than we ever can!  my youngest has found that the kids in the pool are way more fun than we can ever be, as they will play endless games of "colors" with no complaints!

today as i read by the pool i heard my youngest rambling in deutsch.  he was holding a full on conversation with two brothers from germany and they spoke no english what so ever!  he was holding his own!  a while later my oldest runs by with a group of teens giggling and slurping at the non-alcohol drinks they have ordered "on their own".

as i sat there, i remembered the first holiday that hanging out with my parents became "not so cool".  it was a family vacation to mexico.  i remember getting way to sunburned because my mom wasn't standing over me putting sunscreen on me every half hour, and i actually remember trying my first pina colada~and it wasn't the non-alcoholic version, it was the version straight out of the machine at the bar!  oh i was living on the edge!  i remember this was the vacation i fell in "love"with the cute boy who was also breaking away from his family.  i won't tell you how old i was, but i was not far from my oldest son's age.

i am trying to respect that they need there space as much as i do.  we have alternated the touristy days with pool days, but i have to admit~i so miss the days of feeling a bit more needed by my boys, and honestly miss the days of knowing what they are up to....

come to think about it, i think i better go find my teenage son!

Yes, that says "topless area"!!!