I don’t know what it is, but when planning for a family vacation, my anxiety immediately kicks in. There is so much to plan out, so much to mark off the to-do list, then it’s the packing and the prepping, and making sure the itinerary is set, that you have plenty of snacks and drinks on hand, and off you go on an adventure hoping the kids don’t start fighting in the car. Once we get to our destination and have unpacked and settled in, I’m usually fine… but leading up to a trip, even if it’s a small trip, I always get nervous about anything that could go wrong. I always wonder, “Why do I immediately assume the worst-case scenario and all that could go wrong?” It’s not my normal nature to think that way, but something about planning a family trip with the kids just gets me like that.
READ: Last-Minute Ski Vacation Planning with Toddlers
This year, we decided to take a big spring break trip to make our boys’ dream come true: to see snow for the very first time and try their hand at snowboarding. Our destination: Snowshoe, West Virginia!
Taking a trip like this is totally not our norm — my husband and I have never gone skiing or snowboarding in our lives. We usually do day trips or one-to-two-day trips, and it usually involves somewhere warm or tropical. We had no gear, no winter weather clothing for this trip, we had nada, but the stars aligned and with help from friends who are seasoned veterans of vacationing in Snowshoe, we made it happen. And it was a blast despite my anxiety leading up to this trip!
Not having a clue about snow trips at all, my initial thoughts (after I said yes, let’s do it) were: Can we afford this? How will the boys behave on a 12-hour drive? What if we get there and there is no snow? After all, it’s a gamble around springtime, right!?
READ: On the Road: Jax to Colorado
So, we still moved forward with planning and borrowed items and made checklists of things we needed. The snow boots, the jackets, the pants, the goggles. I hit up thrift stores for items still needed, found the other stuff on Amazon, and created a food itinerary for each day since we would be way up in the mountains for four days with no quick access to restaurants — which actually worked out better, because in my opinion, eating fast food day after day gets real old real quick, not to mention costly!
We went with five other families, and the support we got from each one of them to make sure we had a great first-time experience was amazing. We shared foods we cooked with each other, we slid down the bunny slopes together, we took turns taking each other’s kids down the green terrain, even busting my butt 100 times on the snowboard with friends was a blast. I can’t explain it; it was so much work and so exhausting, but it was a blast. Perhaps doing it with a larger group was the key? It was definitely outside of my comfort zone, and I am so glad that I was wrong about taking this trip and having all of these anxious negative thoughts leading up to it. It even snowed while we were there, and that was the ultimate gift from Snowshoe.
My children’s experience was the motivator to push ourselves outside of our comfort zone, and even if you think you can’t do it — seriously, get that thought out of your head because you can. I was so glad I was wrong. This is when being wrong is a good thing. Seeing the pure joy that this group of kids had and the bonds they formed was priceless. My boys will never forget this first trip to Snowshoe, and neither will I. Before we had even left, my boys were already talking about how they couldn’t wait to come back.
Snowshoe Mountain has a little piece of my heart now, along with some of my blood, sweat, and tears from all the falling I did, and I am so glad I was wrong about this trip. This big, intimidating trip. We’ll see you next year Snowshoe, thanks for the memories!!
And lasty, I hope whatever experience you have always wanted to try finds you, and the stars align for you, just don’t let the mom anxiety hold you back from doing it. It will be worth it!
