By Meg Hodson
Our recent inaugural long road trip to California wrapped up last week. It was truly a fun trip; the kids did great and we caught some amazing weather for early Spring in California.
So, our car ride was roughly 11 hours both ways (we did overnight stops on each leg). We were also staying in a fully furnished house for part of our trip. So naturally, I packed some food essentials: Clif bars, dried fruits, nuts, carrot sticks, and bananas for road trip snacks; cereal, pasta, coffee, and other non-perishables for the house. I am one determined Mom when it comes to my kids eating healthy, even on vacation. No, I would never deprive them of pizza or ice cream, but I still want them to maintain most of their normal habits.
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Well, 22 pancakes later, numerous pieces of pizza, many ice cream trips, and way too much COW in my opinion, my kids sailed through their Spring Break seamlessly and without a care in the world. I, on the other hand, am wondering how my carefully plotted plan of home-cooked meals, fruit with every breakfast, veggies, and milk with dinner disintegrated.
It's not that I didn't have good intentions. It's not that I didn't pack the right foods. Maybe a tiny, unconscious part of me liked being on hiatus from having to cook and do dishes. I quickly decided this was okay and threw caution to the wind! I did manage to sneak in some carrot sticks and applesauce here and there, but overall we just enjoyed ourselves and I didn't sweat too much about eating out so much.
Well, by the last day of our trip, it's safe to say we were burnt out on eating out. Even my kids were tired of mac 'n cheese and french fries. But I think it was meant to happen this way. I patted myself on the back for the normal care I put into home-cooked meals. My kids stated they couldn't wait to have broccoli and apple slices again.
I'll save my disgruntlement with kids' menu choices at restaurants for another post.
