Last week, my 12-year-old embarked on a journey out of state with my sister and her family. My sister and I had talked about doing a kid exchange a few years ago, but I thought mine was just too young, at the time. But this summer, she was magically old enough, and mature enough, to head out on a trip to spend sometime with someone else.Was I worried? Sure! I worried that she'd be a pig and not pick up after herself. I worried she'd not get along with her cousins. I worried she'd be homesick and want to come home within one day of her arrival.
I worried for naught.
My sister assurred me that my kid was a good houseguest, enough so that I'm contemplating telling her, now that she's home, that she must act like she is still visiting. I'm half hoping this will encourage a neatly-made bed and no more piles of shoes by each entrance of the house. Now that my daughter is home again, I'm worried that she'll be bored silly because I know she had a good time with her cousins.
So, I'm curious. At what age did you let your children venture "alone" to visit family or friends? How long did they stay? What kind of activities did they do? Were they homesick? Was it a perfect visit, or a nightmare? Would you do it again? If you don't have kids, do you ever take such a trip, yourself, as a child? My hope is that visits like this will spark lifelong memories of good times spent with family, and forge friendships that go beyond family ties. What memories, good, bad, humorous, etc., do you have of family get-togethers, or solo trips to visit others?
flickr.com - Oz photo
aperfectworld.org - car clip art
spirituality.org.za - shoes in the hall
sfgate.com - The Griswolds
I can remember going to visit my aunt and uncle when I was probably around 8 or 9. I think my one cousin might have been a baby then. They lived on a small farm and so there was some novelty to going out and gathering eggs in the morning and feeding the sheep. I also remember that my aunt bought me a big pack of strawberry gum that their labrador ate wrapper and all. It was a fun time, and much better than some sort of sleepaway camp, which I probably would have hated.
ReplyDeleteI was probably about your daughter's age the first time our parents took our big sis & me to Grandpa & Grandma's for a week...we spent a lot of time at the beach and going to the library--UNATTENDED AT BOTH PLACES! *GASP* ;-) The next summer's visit included the same activities, and also a mishap that involved my spending an afternoon at the dentist's office...The third (and final) summer visit ended before Mom & Dad even left, because I had come down with mono...Good times, tho, and I don't remember being homesick at all! (And your daughter was a GREAT house guest! Even tho she was pretty quiet most of the time--except when giggling with her younger cousin--we all missed her last night!)
ReplyDeleteYou have a new follower from Lady Bloggers. You have a cute blog! My daughter is still too young for a trip by herself. that is great that your daughter had a great time. Come and visit me at Mama's Little Chick. Have a great night!
ReplyDeleteMama Hen
When my oldest was 10 I allowed her to fly from home (Missouri) to Florida where my aunt lives. At the time I was scared to death. My aunt paid extra for her to have a "skysitter" and all was well. While I was petrified, I was more scared that she would never get the opportunity again. At that time in my life I'd never flown, never seen the ocean and I was not going to have that be her life. All was well, she had an amazing time and I would totally do it again!
ReplyDeleteNo kiddos here, but my boss let her 3 kids fly on their own and take the bus from a very young age (7 or 8, I think)
ReplyDeletehttp://lambaround.blogspot.com
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ReplyDeleteMama Hen
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