Anyone relate? Were family vacations enjoyable for you?
My parents made a point to do one family vacation per year growing up. I think nearly every one was a failure.
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I can't knock my parents too much because their heart was in the right place, but they didn't really put much thought into our vacations, my dad was always super high strung, and my brother was always getting into trouble and getting kicked out of places. Later on when we left out my brother (he became a drug addict and criminal), the vacations were still terrible as my mom never wanted to leave the hotel and my dad was still super high strung and unenjoyable to be around. After 20 years of this, I finally decided I'm not going to do vacations with my family any more, and I haven't. I feel bad about it, but they're just not fun for me or really anyone else I think. I have much more fun going places alone, with a friend, or with a girl.
Anyone relate? Were family vacations enjoyable for you? -
It's called dysfunctional family. 1/3 of all families fit in that category and the other 1/3 are borderline dysfunctional. You ain't alone. That's just the fvckin way it is.
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Keepin it Real wrote:
1/3 of all families fit in that category and the other 1/3 are borderline dysfunctional.
The other, other 1/3 just sucks at math. -
thats the way family vacations are. Unremarkable. I remember long road trips, sitting in the car playing gameboy. When we finally got to where we were going, the family would never be out past 6 or 7. Sometimes we'd spend a whole week at a grandparent's house in florida, maybe leaving for a day or two to go do some typical tourist things. If you want a fun vacation, you need to go with friends who are in to the same kind of activities as you.
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I think it's pretty commomn for a kid growing up to want to spend more times with his friends than his family. It's called growing up. Did you think you were going to live with your parents until you retire? No need to bash your parents because you feel entitled for them to provide you with constant fun. I suppose you expect your dad to play video games and watch porn with you too. Or your mom to serve you breakfast in bed every morning. It's up to you to find your own fun in any certain situation, not waste your time finding fault with everyone but yourself.
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Oh boo hoo. Your 1%er family could go on vacations. Most of us didn't have that luxury. Go tell it to your high priced therapist, Richie Rich.
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always fail wrote:
Anyone relate? Were family vacations enjoyable for you?
As a matter of fact, yes they were. We had fun doing even mundane things together. Lots of laughing and relaxed days. -
always fail wrote:
Anyone relate? Were family vacations enjoyable for you?
We used to head to the boundary waters for week-long canoe/kayaking camping trips. As I look back on them, they were were pretty fun even when they weren't, if you know what I'm saying. At least, no one complained about going to bed early. Some good memories. -
My brother and father got involved with the Boy Scouts when my brother turned 11, so I started being involved in Webelos and BS around 8.
We did a lot of camping during the year as a family, and during summers we all went on a two-week vacation with the BS troop. The troop always made these family trips so there were a ton of people who weren't actually BSs. There were a lot of other kids' older sisters around so I was happy and most of the parents left us alone. There was a general agreement that all the parents were looking out for each others' kids and the kids knew they could get busted by any of the adults. If anyone did act up they were publicly admonished and humiliated in the process.
My brother managed to act a fool one morning and he was pilloried. He didn't want to get up one morning and one of the adults pulled my brother's tent down on him. My brother freaked out and went on a tirade. He was later made to apologize to the adult and all of us for it.
In addition to that we did various summer camps in other states, and also worked on the staff some times. I think I enjoyed teaching Archery the most. All the Nature merit badges were fun, but mostly just earned by rote--archery is a sport so it is more enjoyable.
Anyway, my experience was that family vacations are awesome, but they have to be done right. The nuclear family does not need to go on a vacation alone. They already spend a lot of time together. I think its best to do large, group vacations where the agenda is set by committee rather than your parents and you don't have to be around your stupid sibling more than usual. -
go canada wrote:
always fail wrote:
Anyone relate? Were family vacations enjoyable for you?
We used to head to the boundary waters for week-long canoe/kayaking camping trips. As I look back on them, they were were pretty fun even when they weren't, if you know what I'm saying. At least, no one complained about going to bed early. Some good memories.
i do not like canoe vacations, they are not fun, especially when they aren't -
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Bobby Trippe wrote:
go canada wrote:
always fail wrote:
Anyone relate? Were family vacations enjoyable for you?
We used to head to the boundary waters for week-long canoe/kayaking camping trips. As I look back on them, they were were pretty fun even when they weren't, if you know what I'm saying. At least, no one complained about going to bed early. Some good memories.
i do not like canoe vacations, they are not fun, especially when they aren't
Yeah but why do you go on these trips with me?
You don't beat it. You don't beat this river -
redux wrote:
My brother and father got involved with the Boy Scouts when my brother turned 11, so I started being involved in Webelos and BS around 8.
We did a lot of camping during the year as a family, and during summers we all went on a two-week vacation with the BS troop. The troop always made these family trips so there were a ton of people who weren't actually BSs. There were a lot of other kids' older sisters around so I was happy and most of the parents left us alone. There was a general agreement that all the parents were looking out for each others' kids and the kids knew they could get busted by any of the adults. If anyone did act up they were publicly admonished and humiliated in the process.
My brother managed to act a fool one morning and he was pilloried. He didn't want to get up one morning and one of the adults pulled my brother's tent down on him. My brother freaked out and went on a tirade. He was later made to apologize to the adult and all of us for it.
In addition to that we did various summer camps in other states, and also worked on the staff some times. I think I enjoyed teaching Archery the most. All the Nature merit badges were fun, but mostly just earned by rote--archery is a sport so it is more enjoyable.
Anyway, my experience was that family vacations are awesome, but they have to be done right. The nuclear family does not need to go on a vacation alone. They already spend a lot of time together. I think its best to do large, group vacations where the agenda is set by committee rather than your parents and you don't have to be around your stupid sibling more than usual.
Trying way too hard to be part of the story when it wasn't warranted.
It was not a cool story brah. -
Que Flagpole...
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lol. My family was a bit like that. If we were taking a road trip, my parents were often already screaming at each other before we even pulled out of the driveway. There were many road trips where my mom was crying as our car pulled out of the driveway as well.
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Ouch.
enuff already wrote:
Trying way too hard to be part of the story when it wasn't warranted.
It was not a cool story brah. -
always fail wrote:
I can't knock my parents too much because their heart was in the right place, but they didn't really put much thought into our vacations, my dad was always super high strung, and my brother was always getting into trouble and getting kicked out of places. Later on when we left out my brother (he became a drug addict and criminal), the vacations were still terrible as my mom never wanted to leave the hotel and my dad was still super high strung and unenjoyable to be around. After 20 years of this, I finally decided I'm not going to do vacations with my family any more, and I haven't. I feel bad about it, but they're just not fun for me or really anyone else I think. I have much more fun going places alone, with a friend, or with a girl.
Anyone relate? Were family vacations enjoyable for you?
Sounds bad, brother. My family vacations were great. Sounds more like issue with your parents generally than it being a vacation thing. -
It depends on the luck of genetics. An ambitious parent and laid back type offspring probably will end up tearing itself apart. A laid back parent and ambitious offspring usually creates a very harmonious situation. Its the luck of the draw the level of happiness for any individual.
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My folks have gone on various vacations over the last few yers (different regions of Europe, Alaska, all over US, etc.), and they always take my sister but now me.
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always fail wrote:
I can't knock my parents too much because their heart was in the right place, but they didn't really put much thought into our vacations, my dad was always super high strung, and my brother was always getting into trouble and getting kicked out of places. Later on when we left out my brother (he became a drug addict and criminal), the vacations were still terrible as my mom never wanted to leave the hotel and my dad was still super high strung and unenjoyable to be around. After 20 years of this, I finally decided I'm not going to do vacations with my family any more, and I haven't. I feel bad about it, but they're just not fun for me or really anyone else I think. I have much more fun going places alone, with a friend, or with a girl.
Anyone relate? Were family vacations enjoyable for you?
Why not have an open and honest discussion with your family about your feelings...you are either part of problem or part of the solution. -
Yeah, my parents would always take us on vacations.
Once we were driving in our big station wagon to this theme park and along the way my grandmother died, so we tied her to the car and dropped her off. We didn't really get to see much of the Grand Canyon along the way. It was so bad that at one point our car was tagged when we ended up in E. St. Louis.
When we finally arrived at the theme park it was closed. My father berated a security guard and forced him at (toy)gun point to let us ride the rides. Man.. what a disaster! I wont even tell you about our trip to Europe.
