It happened every year.
My mom and my aunt would get into an argument because my aunt was going to take my two cousins on vacation. The issue was never where she was going or how much she was spending. The issue was always that my aunt would take my cousins out of school a week before Christmas vacation began.
Some of you with children may recognize this as one of the great parental divides. Those, like my aunt, who add extra vacation time to their children's school year by taking them out of school early or adding time onto their vacation, and those, like my mother, who believe these people should have their children away by social services.
Both sides obviously make compelling arguments.
My mom would argue that three weeks of vacation during the year, plus holidays, plus summer vacation, is more than enough time without having to remove kids from school thereby setting them back in regards to their schoolwork.
My aunt would counter that if you go on vacation when everybody else does, you end up with traffic on the road, high prices on air travel, and crowds everywhere.
My mom would then counter with her favorite word: Tough. Then she would tell my aunt that she sounded like a spoiled brat for thinking she should be exempt from what all of us go through on vacations, and that her kids were going to turn out the same way if she wasn't careful.
From that point on, there would just be lots of swearing, hanging up, calling back, more swearing, crying, and ultimately (thankfully) forgiveness...
...Until the following year.
It isn't just my mom and aunt either. I notice when I'm around mothers and the talk turns to vacations, you see the lines become drawn once someone mentions giving their kids that extra week.
"Well, I suppose I could do that as well, but I don't want my son ending up homeless and addicted to heroin."
"Ah well then, you have fun standing in line for three hours after driving two days to get to Disney World only to realize you have to drive back immediately so your little Johnny doesn't miss his quiz on plant cells."
It makes me feel good that I won't have to make any sort of decision about this for a long while.
Since it is Christmas time though, and since vacations are going to start approaching, I wondered where I would stand on the issue.
I can definitely see my aunt's points. Plus, it seems like another example of overparenting to be that hypersensitive about your kids missing the week before or after vacation--especially when anybody's who has been to school knows that those weeks are usually wasted anyway. I went to a great school and I used to spend the week before Christmas watching movies in all my classes and doing busy work. Lastly, I very much enjoy disagreeing with my mother.
That being said, ultimately, I'd have to side with my mom. It does seem like the extra time kids and their parents feel that they're entitled to have a better vacation than the rest of us. If everybody did follow their lead, they'd have no reason to take the extra time. Basically, they're counting on everybody else following the rules so that when they break them, it's a bigger payoff. Crowds and traffic are small hassles, and for those bigger vacations where more than a week is required, there's that season called summer.
But if I'm being truthful about why I'd side with my mom, it's this:
If you're the kid that gets extra vacation, that means you're the kid all the other kids hate while they're taking that pop quiz on plant cells.
And I wouldn't want that for my kid just so we could have a shorter wait in line to get on a roller coaster somewhere.
My mom and my aunt would get into an argument because my aunt was going to take my two cousins on vacation. The issue was never where she was going or how much she was spending. The issue was always that my aunt would take my cousins out of school a week before Christmas vacation began.
Some of you with children may recognize this as one of the great parental divides. Those, like my aunt, who add extra vacation time to their children's school year by taking them out of school early or adding time onto their vacation, and those, like my mother, who believe these people should have their children away by social services.
Both sides obviously make compelling arguments.
My mom would argue that three weeks of vacation during the year, plus holidays, plus summer vacation, is more than enough time without having to remove kids from school thereby setting them back in regards to their schoolwork.
My aunt would counter that if you go on vacation when everybody else does, you end up with traffic on the road, high prices on air travel, and crowds everywhere.
My mom would then counter with her favorite word: Tough. Then she would tell my aunt that she sounded like a spoiled brat for thinking she should be exempt from what all of us go through on vacations, and that her kids were going to turn out the same way if she wasn't careful.
From that point on, there would just be lots of swearing, hanging up, calling back, more swearing, crying, and ultimately (thankfully) forgiveness...
...Until the following year.
It isn't just my mom and aunt either. I notice when I'm around mothers and the talk turns to vacations, you see the lines become drawn once someone mentions giving their kids that extra week.
"Well, I suppose I could do that as well, but I don't want my son ending up homeless and addicted to heroin."
"Ah well then, you have fun standing in line for three hours after driving two days to get to Disney World only to realize you have to drive back immediately so your little Johnny doesn't miss his quiz on plant cells."
It makes me feel good that I won't have to make any sort of decision about this for a long while.
Since it is Christmas time though, and since vacations are going to start approaching, I wondered where I would stand on the issue.
I can definitely see my aunt's points. Plus, it seems like another example of overparenting to be that hypersensitive about your kids missing the week before or after vacation--especially when anybody's who has been to school knows that those weeks are usually wasted anyway. I went to a great school and I used to spend the week before Christmas watching movies in all my classes and doing busy work. Lastly, I very much enjoy disagreeing with my mother.
That being said, ultimately, I'd have to side with my mom. It does seem like the extra time kids and their parents feel that they're entitled to have a better vacation than the rest of us. If everybody did follow their lead, they'd have no reason to take the extra time. Basically, they're counting on everybody else following the rules so that when they break them, it's a bigger payoff. Crowds and traffic are small hassles, and for those bigger vacations where more than a week is required, there's that season called summer.
But if I'm being truthful about why I'd side with my mom, it's this:
If you're the kid that gets extra vacation, that means you're the kid all the other kids hate while they're taking that pop quiz on plant cells.
And I wouldn't want that for my kid just so we could have a shorter wait in line to get on a roller coaster somewhere.
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