Destination vacation!

I've got to let you in on a little secret: Some of you may have already figured this out (I'm just a little slow on the uptake): destination vacation with your Gen Yers!

With two kids out of college and two kids in college, vacations have become a real challenge! Each of our college kids have different vacation schedules (of course) and each of our working kids have highly coveted, allotted, paid-by-their-employer vacation days, to the tune of maybe three weeks / year. Not to mention our vacation schedule (the parents)! Trying to align all of our schedules and to presume that our kids actually would WANT to vacation with us or spend their vacation with us, that's the goal, right?

Well, through some trial and error, mostly at the expense of our eldest kids, we (us parents) have discovered:
If we choose a desirable destination
A week that conceivably could work for everyone
Let our kids know that that's where we'll be and when
AND
We're paying....
They come!
You know "Field of Dreams", "if you build it, they will come?" So true!

It's fantastic!! We're just back from our 2009 vacation. This year was in the Rockies and it was terrific! All 6 of us under one roof. What's so great about this destination vacation stuff, is that there are no friend distractions. Selfish? You betchya! The problem with them coming home for their vacations are that you never see them! They may appear for a meal or two, but they spend most of their time visiting with old friends! And mom-here gets to do their laundry! Just love sorting through whose boxers are whose? :) Of course we're guilty of being distracted too when we're home, so this is a win-win proposition!

Before we enter into the next phase of life, with significant others, spouses, etc., this has been a welcome change to our previous vacations. We were a family that always vacationed with my parents. Wonderful, for sure, on so many levels...and as my siblings started having kids they started joining us too...really great! But there's middle school, high school and college between my kids and my sibs' kids, so it's a totally different dynamic! About three years ago we decided to mix things up, and we head out on our own once a year. It's been great!

It's evolved into different people taking charge! Take meals for example, what a kick that is to witness. Some are better sous chefs than others, some prefer clean up to cooking, others prefer to "direct traffic" in the kitchen...all while music is blaring, laptops are humming with Facebook or Gchat (unbelievable) in the background....my husband is still usually the one to man the grill (everyone's leery of "hockey pucks" as burgers). And as for the day's events and the planning, everyone chimes in on their wants, the usual sibling and /or parental pressure is applied to that person that "doesn't really want to go for the hike today." And in the end, we all go, there are loads of laughs, some blisters, and so many conversations about so many different things...did you know that you can video chat on Google now? Who knew? Or what goes on with pledging a fraternity and the numerous warnings/or advice an older sib gives a younger brother. BTW, pledges and cars; your kid will be running errands for the older "brothers" and if there are lots of seat belts available in that car, many miles will be logged on that vehicle for whatever "road trip" the frat decides to go on....who's paying for gas??? And that one of your kids can put you in Facebook pergatory (my words, not FB), only allowing you to see some of their posted pictures????
These are important topics! I learn a ton on these trips!

I highly recommend this vacation strategy with your Gen Y kids, who knows, maybe when we do enter the next phase this will be an "established precedent?!?" In the mean time...where should we go next year?