Vacation Villain or Hero?

January 24, 2012, By Jason Huaraque 2 comments

I was checking out of our hotel on the last day of a vacation that my wife and I had spent months planning. I spied my family in the lobby camped around our luggage and leaning against one another looking beaten and weary. As I turned to sign for our charges, I felt a familiar frustration rise within me, but then I looked back and noticed that they were not complaining or asking for anything or pouting.

They were unhappy. I realized a bitter truth: I had ruined our vacation. Somehow I had gone from planning what I thought would be a great time for everyone to being the type of dad who yells, “You will have a good time whether you like it or not!” I know I'm not alone among dads in feeling this way. We work so hard to make our families happy that the stress of it ensures we'll make them miserable instead. Through research and trial and error, I have come up with a five-point guideline to help any dad go from Vacation Villain to Hero. 

1. Logistics. Fry the bacon and put it on the plate.

While saving money or clearing calendar space might be your first step in planning a vacation, it’s important to remember that what you do with your money and time is just as important as how much you have. There’s a lot of information online, of course, or you could find the latest edition of a good travel book that focuses on your destination. This type of reference will give you a foundation for planning when and where to go and how to get there.

2. Plan, plan, plan. But do it in pencil.

Be as comfortable with Plans B, C, or D as you are with Plan A. No one wants to relive the horror stories we may have heard about or lived through in which families spend their dream vacation fighting and miserable. It might go against your natural reaction, but if you can sift through your children's whining and pouting, you usually will hear a viable message trying to be conveyed. Listen to it and respect it. If you’ve done your work with the logistics, being flexible shouldn’t be too hard.

NEXT: Take advantage of Dad Time. Be a goofball.