Amanda Lamb: Going with the flow

With the holiday coming up this week and having just come off a week with my kids, I started reflecting on family vacations.

When I was a kid, family vacations meant hours in the backseat of my dad’s car with nothing but a book to keep me company. We had no smart phones or DVD players. We stopped only when he needed gas. Bathroom breaks and food were limited to those brief stops. We had no say in what we ate.

The only plus was that no one wore seatbelts, so, instead, we wrapped in blankets and sprawled across the seat, sometimes on the floor, and sometimes on the wide window ledge above the backseat of my dad’s old Lincoln Continental.

One thing there was none of: complaining. That was not allowed. My, how family vacations have changed...

My kids have smart phones to occupy every moment of travel, which usually involves a plane, not a car. They beeline for Starbucks in the airport. They want to know everything on the agenda each day, and they think they should have veto power over activities they don’t want to participate in.

One thing kids today do not like is going with the flow, which is one of my absolute favorite things about vacation. My daily life is so scheduled. On vacation, I am happy to just see where the day takes me.

But, in the generation of immediate gratification, being flexible and going with the flow is not part of their DNA, which is a shame. I think some of the best moments in life happen when we don’t plan them.

I truly hope with more life experience and wisdom my children will learn the beauty of exploration that doesn’t always involve an itinerary. Life is short, but wide. The joy is found in letting moments breathe and seeing where life takes you ...

Amanda is the mom of two, a reporter for WRAL-TV and the author of several books including some on motherhood. Find her here on Mondays.