Memoirs of a Mom: Attempting the "Reset" button

Road trips can be hard, especially with a four-year-old diva and a two-year-old bull of a boy (who often likes to wear his sister's heels and princess dresses, whilst running around with a football - we don't judge in our house, "you do you".) Needless to say, the once-a-year drive to visit family in BC is one we sometimes dread, and pack for as if the apocalypse is imminent. Like I said, road trips can be hard:

Two weeks ago, we packed up the kids, the tent, and loaded the car at 3 am MST to drive towards beautiful British Columbia. Our goal: to press the "Reset" button for our family, and free ourselves from the slavery that is data-devices. My husband and I grew up in the Thompson-Okanagan and had been planning this 10-day camping/road-trip for a few months, excited to relax as a family and share our favourite spots with our "Big City" kids.

*10 minutes in to the drive*

Boo: Are we going to fly to Grandma's?

DK: No, we're going to drive!

*Long pause*

Moose: WHHHHHAT?!

And that's how our little road trip began. Normally, when we hit the road, I pack a large amount of "good-for-you" snacks and picnic to share while in the Rocky Mountains: mixed deli meats; granola; berries; dried fruit and nuts; cut- up veggies; rice cakes and all natural peanut butter. I had planned it all, and was excited to, not only be healthy and active as a family, but unplug from technology! It was going to be a good, wholesome, reconnect as a family kind of trip. Our first major stop in the road was going to be in the Rocky Mountains, however that didn't sit too well with the Littles:

*1 hour in to the trip*

Boo: Are we there yet?!

DK: Sorry, Gorgeous, we have quite a few hours left in our drive.

Boo: This is why I said we should fly!

And so the dialogue went, for the next 9 hours! Now, I know we said we would "unplug;" but, driving from Edmonton to Kelowna, BC is a long drive for a 4YO and a 2YO! So we had made sure to pack the iPad, loaded with movies and shows, to entertain them for a small portion of the drive. That was, until Boo accidentally wiped ALL the shows off the device...SHIT. No problem! I have a large repertoire of Disney songs memorised for just such occasions!

*Mom starts to sing Part of Your World*

Moose: NO! No sing!

And that was how our road trip continued. We did stop in Lake Louise at 9am for our "Picnic Lunch," where the giant diva, Boo, refused to smile for photos, and instead loped around posing "Posh Spice" style for every cheesy family photo we took -complete with sunglasses. Then carried on our merry way. We, eventually, pulled in to Kelowna many hours later, and were grateful for the hospitality of my sister and BIL. Despite our rocky start, our 10 days (really) "unplugged" was amazing! We swam every day, canoed, hiked, and played hard. Thanks to all that beautiful fresh air, bed time wasn't as hard -for Moose and Boo, or for Mom and Dad. We even made it to a few BC wineries, where the kids politely sat under the bar while Mommy and Daddy had a wine tasting #parentingwin #survivalparenting All in all, I'd say we managed to pull off a fairly successful 10-day family road trip.

See? She's totally killing it with those silk pants, pink hoody and Frozen glasses. Way too cool for a family photo!

Now, when I say "unplugged," I don't actually mean my phone was ever turned off. I mean that my phone remained on my bedside table all day long. I purposefully left it, ignored it, and forgot it. The iPad had been stashed away. TV was in limited use, and only turned on for short spurts of time (where available.) We made no agenda. I did make time for a personal workout, or two, but we set out to spend time as a family and that is exactly what we did! This was the first time in our own country that we purposefully spent away from our personal data devices, and despite what you may think happens (chaos, screaming children, lack of R&R due to boredom, feelings of nakedness and insecurity) we really enjoyed it. Slowly, day by day, we relaxed. Slowly, day by day, we felt less tethered to our blinking lights and phones, and more playful. By mid-week, Moose and Boo were ACTUALLY entertaining each other! DK and I ACTUALLY relaxed, as parents, partners, and individuals. It was a welcome change in pace that, despite our busy and active vacation events, helped all of us rest and reconnect.

Honestly, we had a lot of fun. Our last four days were spent at a Family Camp on Shuswap Lake, BC. We canoed, hiked, camp-fired, s'mored, and sang camp songs like no other. We were that disgusting family that actually LIKES each other (you know the family I'm talking about: the one that is poked fun at in family RV movies.) At the end of this whole trip, our Big City kids were swimming in a lake and getting dirty, without fear of bugs or needing to wash their hands. Yup! I successfully returned my children to childhood! And on the LOOOONG drive back home, Moose even let us sing!

Sometimes I wish there was a "Reset" button. I would press it, and all responsibilities of work/home/mom and social-pressures would just slide away. We would be allowed to play like kids, with our kids, and forget that somewhere, left on a table in a random room in the house is a lonely little cellphone blinking away. Our kids would be cured of the zombie-curse that washes over them whenever they see a media screen. It would be a thing of beauty! Want to hear something amazing? Our first day home, with the iPad nestled on his little lap, tiny legs and feet hanging off our bed, Moose chose to put the device down. He chose to go play with Boo, instead. It was in that moment that I realised the 30+ hours of driving, full of groans and complaints, was all worth the opportunity to press "Reset." Give it a try, I promise you won't regret it.