Nine weeks postpartum we decided to join our friends in a large beach house in Duck, North Carolina. The week before our departure, I was in extreme panic mode. My mind swirled around all the problems this might cause. "She's nine weeks old. What if she cries the whole time? How will she handle the five hour car ride? Why does she require so much stuff? How will all of this stuff fit in our two door Wrangler?" and so on. It didn't help that some of my mom friends told me they would never have considered a trip with a baby that little. It also didn't help that some of my non-mom friends told me they would be annoyed if a baby cried their whole vacation.
We had already paid in full. There was no backing out.
And I'm glad. It was one of the best things we did this summer. Not only did Elliott amaze me with her flexibility, but I really needed the vacation. The ocean heals my soul and I felt rejuvenated when it was time to go home.
What surprised me the most was the experience of Communal Parenting. Every morning, 7 am on the dot, we'd wake up and head to the kitchen and the family room. Children played together while some parents supervised and some parents made breakfast. Beach and pool time sandwiched synchronized naps. Post bed time drinks were the highlight of the day. Wine in one hand, monitor in the other we sipped our drinks while talking on the deck overlooking the ocean. Then we went to bed to repeat it all the following day.
We all got it, we understood the reality of parenting on vacation. Even those on the trip without children were supportive of our new reality. We cheered each other on during meltdowns and nap fighting. We partnered in the duties of parenting, cooking, and cleaning. We shared tricks of the trade in the evenings and most of all we were there for one another.
This must be what it was like to live in a village, you know minus the iPhones and French Presses. It made me miss the village life I never had. The support, understanding, and companionship of fellow moms and dads was not only heart warming, but necessary. We need each other. It truly takes a village, even if that village meets once a year for a week.
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