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I’m More Than Ready to Return to the Comfort of Home

I think my last blog post title might have been a tad misleading.  I was not at home when I wrote it.  I was just predicting the sad state of affairs that will be my arrival at home if I continue to indulge in Boardwalk fare.

Tonight, however, we WILL be going home, and I am already fantasizing about the blessed event.  I have determined that my capacity for tolerating communal living is about 2 days.  Today is day 5.  Nuff said.

But since when does that stop me?

Let me lay it out for you. 

16 people — that’s 8 adults and 8 kids ranging in age from 2 to 17.

2 bathrooms — which really aren’t 2 bathrooms, because 1 of those 2 bathrooms is part of the master suite, which belongs, as it should, to my parents-in-law, who so generously provide the vacation for the rest of us.  But that means that 14 people are pretty much sharing the 1 main bathroom.  Thank goodness for the outdoor shower and that my inlaws do share their retreat when showers are in the highest demand.

4 bedrooms — which are divvied up 1 per family.  Which means that all 5 of my immediate family members share 1 room.  Which is quite a feat come bedtime.  My children refuse to sleep elsewhere, even though they were invited to occupy the floor of my inlaws’ bedroom.

1 TV — running constantly.  And I’ve already told you how I feel about TV as background noise. 

6 comfy seats — that go quickly, especially when the TV is on.

8 dining room chairs — fortunately there are also 8 adults, so at least we all get first dibs on table seating during mealtimes.  The kids get scattered around the living room, the kitchen island, and the outside patio.

1 kitchen — shared by all, including independent youngsters who don’t exactly share my standards for cleanliness or tidiness.

You can see why my tolerance has its limits.

Lest you get the wrong idea, I don’t want to give the impression that I’m complaining in the least.  I am incredibly thankful that my inlaws provide the accommodations so that we have an affordable beach vacation every year. 

But more than that, I’m delighted that my children have this opportunity to spend quality (and quantity) time with their cousins building relationships that will hopefully last a lifetime.  We are scattered all up and down the east coast, so this is the only opportunity we have to be together in such concentrated doses.

And of course we adults enjoy the time to catch up on our busy lives.  There are a few fun traditions that we have developed over the years.  The men take a morning golf outing together, my mother-in-law treats the ladies to a breakfast date where we don’t have to cook or clean up or cut food into bits for small children, and one evening we all meet up for Boardwalk rides.  I certainly treasure these memories, and my kids already look forward to this trip every year.

Here are a few pictures.  I would like to share more, but so many include pictures of the cousins, and I don’t have permission to post those.

Here’s our little Miss Merry Sunshine.

And her sister.  I’m all out of cute nicknames.

And the big bad brother.

And this, my friends, is the best time of day.  That’s mama’s internet time.

And with that, I’m about to pour a Mike-A-Rita over ice and have me a l’il somethin’ somethin’.  I plan to enjoy the last few hours of my vaca.  Because as nice as it will be to be home with a reasonable person-to-potty ratio, a sea of laundry awaits.

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16 Responses

  1. We pulled the all-five-of-us-in-one-room during our last wedding trip and let me just tell you, I was never so glad to sleep in my own room and bed after that!

  2. Sounds EXACTLY like our family vacation to Ocean City every year – even down to the one bedroom per family and two bathrooms with one being in the master suite. It’s not the most relaxing vacation in the world but I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

  3. Thank you for rekindling the excitement of my upcoming beach trip in 3 weeks. There will be 3 adults and 5 kids in a two bedroom condo.

    I am already praying for blue skies! Looks like y’all are having a great time. Nice photos too!

  4. Laundry will suck the fun out of any vacation…but it only seems to do that for the mothers. What’s up with that?

    Your children are so cute. Wish I were at the beach. Oh well, the friends pool will have to do!

    Be safe on your journey home!

  5. We will be doing the same thing with my in-laws in about 2 weeks. I do enjoy the time at the shore with all of them but I am ready for the end of the week when it arrives!

  6. We’re leaving in the morning for the beach. It will be five of us in our room. We lucked out and got the master suite. Which is a bonus since its 12 people spread between 2 condos.

  7. Fun but exhausting! You always need a vacation after a vacation like that.

    We go visit family every summer and after a few days, I start muttering under my breath that we will definitely get a hotel next time. But we just do it all over again the next time! 🙂

  8. We are looking forward to a trip to the beach at the end of july with a bunch of family too. Glad you had a great time but it is nice to come home back to your own space and in this case, bathroom!

  9. Communal living like you described does not always bring out the best in everyone. We get the cousins together once a year like you described and we call it “Cousins Camp.” The men even have the same golf outing…it lasts ALL day. After a few years of this, the ladies quickly caught on to the fact that they had a full DAY to themselves and we got what….maybe a few hours? We decided we would start taking a whole morning and afternoon for browsing the shops and having lunch. We call it “Sholffing” …..that word communicates that we are shopping, but with the all day intent to stay out like the men do with golf.

  10. “Which means that all 5 of my immediate family members share 1 room.”

    Oh, shoot me. Shoot me now.

    I think next year, Grandma and Grandpa should take ALL the kids by themselves while the parents stay home!! All in favor say Aye!

    You definitely need a vacation from your vacation.

  11. We just got back from a similar excursion. We had 12 people, 6 kids under 7, in a 1400 sq foot beach cottage. We did have 3 bathrooms, but I totally am with you on the TV noise. I was constantly turning it off when no one was watching it. My brother would go through the room, and say, “Hey, who turned off the TV?” He would turn it back on, and leave! It was fun, though, but I’m really glad we don’t live in the extended family home days!

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