What happens when your adventures go awry? If you’ve ever dealt with breakdowns, sickness, and absolute meltdowns, you know what I’m talking about. Nothing can spoil a vacation like one of these curveballs, and we dig into the details of how to cope in this weeks’ episode.
Come prepared
For the airplane journey, I packed:
- Band-aids
- Essential oils
- Gum (for popping ears on planes)
- Pillow and blanket for each kiddo
Expert tip…(or, realistically, advice from another parent who has no medical credentials, just what’s worked for us): for pinkeye, I mix several drops of tea tree oil, lemon and lavender in with coconut oil. Put it AROUND the eyes – on the cheekbones and eyebrows. Be careful not to get it into the eyes, but the fumes are incredible with healing pinkeye. I do this, keep hands washed and put an essential oil protective blend on the bottoms of their feet with socks. There may be a lot of re-applying, but this has gotten us through several rounds of serious pinkeye without the use of any antibiotics.
If you aren’t taking time to recharge for yourself on your trip, it’s going to crumble. Protect your priorities…and make one of those a priority of your health and happiness. Give space and be intentional about having time to breathe and relax.
The biggest priority is this – get on the same team. Clear communication and expectations – your partner and you need to be on the same page and work together. If you are pissed at each other, the whole trip will go downhill fast.
Keep things into perspective – don’t make it so heavy. Keep it light and look for the humor in it all. Before you start pointing fingers, ask, “what is your goal?”
When things go wrong, how can you shift things to an adventure vs. making it a burden.
Don’t shoot arrows at your partner when tensions are high. Don’t break each other down in the process.
1. Download
“Here’s what we know.”
Give a cliff’s notes version to your kids. Tell them what is going on, and then set the expectation on what you need from them. “We need you to be quiet in the back seat while we assess.” The more clued in they are, the more willing they can be to help out and be a part of the team.
2. Assign
“What are our options?”
Don’t dig into the past or start playing the blame game. Look at your options, what needs to happen, and who is going to do what. Assign roles. It may be one is simply focused on the kids while the other works out the details. That is super important. Clearly communicate and work as a team so you don’t overlap and get frustrated.
The more deposits you’ve made into your relationship, the less withdrawal there is when things go awry. Cultivate your garden of grace by investing in your relationship daily.
3. Reflect
Be grateful.
Be willing to accept help. It makes the giver feel good, and community is powerful. Have an “attitude of gratitude” and look at all the things that went right. You didn’t get stranded at the top of the mountain. At least it’s not a broken arm. You kids did a great job of being quiet when we needed to sort things out. Hun, thanks for just stepping up and handling the auto repair store.
Be willing to communicate. When we are in crisis mode, we tend to react. We aren’t always at our best. But reaction upon reaction can really blow up. So squeeze in that intention – what is your goal?
Keep moving forward in what you want instead of wallowing in what you hate.
Set this framework so you can navigate the good, bad, and ugly. When plans go out the window, it doesn’t mean the fun has to. You can still find the good, add in a healthy dose of humor, and be thankful that it could have been so much worse.
Your challenge this week: Use these three tips this week when life might toss you some lemons: 1: Download with the family what’s going on. 2: Assign roles so you work as a team. 3: Look back and reflect on what did go right and what didn’t. Focus on gratitude!
Share how your family has navigated a rocky spot below!