If this is wrong, I don’t want to be right: Expect The Unexpected!
If this is wrong, I don’t want to be right: Expect The Unexpected!
Sure we are a family unit, but we are made up of individuals, and all of us have our own unique spin on what we want to get out of a vacation. I have a daughter who loves to read and rock climb but has very little interest in yoga, water aerobics, or “healthy” cuisine. My other daughter? Almost polar opposite, she hates to miss a day of her work out routine and is a food pyramid evangelical. Then there is my son who we loving refer to as a water rat; he could spend his entire vacation paddling around in a swimming pool. My husband? He wants to catch up on past issues of Analog magazines (yawn), read a book (better), and head into the open ocean(yay!). Me, well, I’m happy having everyone “self organize” while I drink a Pina Colada and reapply my sunscreen as needed.… all week long.
Going into our plans, I understood Club Med offered programs for kids from 4 months to 17 years old. Going into it I also know my kids and their Way of The World. My son tends to be reticent in a crowd, even when the kids are his own age. He’s definitely a leg man, meaning he will hang onto my leg with a death grip until he has surveyed the scene and feels secure venturing out on his own.. With this in mind, I chose to wait until we were at cruising altitude before I began to talk up Mini Club. I was afraid advance warning would only give him time to conjure up reasons to avoid the kid program. On the other hand, my daughters put me on notice before we even left for the airport. They wanted nothing more than to tan on the beach and by the pool. And if they happened to meet some guys their own age? Then that would be considered a bonus, but not a necessity. My expectations were set: My daughters would be plugged into their Ipods ignoring my very existence. The son would be plastered to my thigh making it almost impossible for me to walk, let alone reapply my sunscreen, and definitely insuring my husband and I would have absolutely no time alone together.
Upon our arrival at the resort, we were escorted to our family suite where our luggage magically appeared. We unpacked, no one argued about drawer space because there were enough drawers and hangers for everyone! Woo hoo! We donned our swimsuits and hit the pool deck. The GO’s were there to meet and greet the kids and we found other helpful info on tables around the area. They even had a few games set up for the kids to play while we got them signed up for their Mini Club experience. This was particularly awesome because my son made some friends playing miniature sized tennis while I completed his Mini Club Registration. Score! Meanwhile, my daughters were making plans to meet other teens at the Miramar restaurant later that night. We were off to a good start but I still feared the morning would be the real test…
We got up, put on swim suits and prepared to head out to breakfast. I casually mentioned the kids club to my son who informed me he didn’t think he would be going there – uh oh. After breakfast, I suggested we swing by the kids club – you know, see what it looks like and what they have planned. He agreed – whew! We took a beautiful little stroll to the Mini Club area of the resort. When we walked through the gate I commented about how the kids have their very own resort inside the resort. My son agreed and willingly went with me to the blue striped area for the 8-10 year olds. The GO’s greeted him, we found out archery was at 10:00 and he told me to go to the room and bring him his stuff for the day. Success!!
My husband and I were free to relax on the beach as our daughters snoozed in the room and then enjoyed a late breakfast. We played in the ocean, jumped some waves (one daughter even joined us for a while), walked along the water then went to our covered lounge area. We pulled out some books and magazines then promptly fell asleep for a couple of hours.
While that first morning was filled with trepidation, I am happy to report I was WRONG and have never been happier to announce publically just how WRONG I was! Each morning after that, my son would get up, pack his bag with sunscreen, extra clothes and tennis shoes and hustle us down to breakfast. My girls checked in to inform us of the daily activities at breakfast and as a family we discussed the logistics of who would be where and when. But beyond that? I planned NONE of it! I did, however, get the fun of deciding if I would spend my day Zumba Dancing and Cardio Splashing with one daughter, or sailing, kayaking and wave jumping with my husband and other daughter, or watching my son as he tried out trapeze flying with a new sense of confidence and responsibility, or lounging on the beach pretending to do something useful while I actually slept the afternoon away. Everyone was doing their own thing, together or separately.
Being a newbie to Club Med, I thought maybe we were experiencing a stroke of luck, but the buzz around the resort told me otherwise. I talked with one family who tried other types of family vacations but returned to Club Med because they enjoy what they call “a no-brainer vacation.” Another family I met was vacationing at Club Med for the 3rd year in a row. They are huge fans of the variety of activities – mom and son were both in the trapeze show while I was there. I met a dad who told me, “This has far exceeded all my expectations.” And he had been hesitant about booking the trip, until his friend said their family would book at the same time so they could all vacation together.
A family vacation where each member of the family can get to do what we really want to do – including Mom and Dad! If I hadn’t been there myself, I wouldn’t have believed it could ever have worked out so well.
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