As a wife and mom with family on both coasts and several places between, I’ve done my fair share of family trips, and I can tell you the most important thing to pack: Sunscreen.
Now maybe you’re confused – “Sunscreen? THAT’S the most important thing? What about cash? My passport? Dramamine? Toys for the kids?” My answer is yes, those things are all essential to a successful family trip. But every nightmare you can experience, everything that can go wrong from forgetting THOSE things, will be at least thousand times worse if you’re sunburned.
Case in point: Our last trip to Florida. My in-laws had moved to a new house right on the white sand of Clearwater Beach, and we were thrilled to be able to enjoy it our first day there. My mother-in-law, anxious to spend quality time with her grandson, offered to watch him while my husband and I got some rare alone time. We headed out to the shore armed with nothing more than a couple of chairs and some towels. No sunscreen.
The water was beautiful, and the cool breeze was so refreshing that it never occurred to us we might be getting too much sun. After a couple of hours, though, I glanced over at my husband and he looked a bit pink. “Hmm,” I said. “Maybe we should go in before we get burnt.”
Too late.
We spent the entire rest of the trip slathering ourselves with aloe and drinking gallons of water. In pain, we had a hard time managing our then-one-year old son, whose rambunctious nature had become a bit tiresome for his grandparents. It wasn’t working for us, either, as we took turns downing Advil and passing him off.
By our flight home, the itchy, flaky phase had kicked in. Imagine two hours trapped on a plane with a squirmy baby and skin flakes flying off at an alarming rate.
So, yes… sunscreen. Learn from my mistake and pack it first, for every trip. You’ll be glad you did!
Now maybe you’re confused – “Sunscreen? THAT’S the most important thing? What about cash? My passport? Dramamine? Toys for the kids?” My answer is yes, those things are all essential to a successful family trip. But every nightmare you can experience, everything that can go wrong from forgetting THOSE things, will be at least thousand times worse if you’re sunburned.
Case in point: Our last trip to Florida. My in-laws had moved to a new house right on the white sand of Clearwater Beach, and we were thrilled to be able to enjoy it our first day there. My mother-in-law, anxious to spend quality time with her grandson, offered to watch him while my husband and I got some rare alone time. We headed out to the shore armed with nothing more than a couple of chairs and some towels. No sunscreen.
The water was beautiful, and the cool breeze was so refreshing that it never occurred to us we might be getting too much sun. After a couple of hours, though, I glanced over at my husband and he looked a bit pink. “Hmm,” I said. “Maybe we should go in before we get burnt.”
Too late.
We spent the entire rest of the trip slathering ourselves with aloe and drinking gallons of water. In pain, we had a hard time managing our then-one-year old son, whose rambunctious nature had become a bit tiresome for his grandparents. It wasn’t working for us, either, as we took turns downing Advil and passing him off.
By our flight home, the itchy, flaky phase had kicked in. Imagine two hours trapped on a plane with a squirmy baby and skin flakes flying off at an alarming rate.
So, yes… sunscreen. Learn from my mistake and pack it first, for every trip. You’ll be glad you did!
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