Friday Frankness #2 – Timeshare, Travel Dreams and Samson

FridayWell last night I attempted to order my tickets online, but online ordering was already closed for the 3:30. So I got to call this morning. The lady I spoke with on the phone was super sweet and helpful.

We ended up with tickets up in the nosebleed section, but I wondered if maybe the kids would like it better since it wouldn’t be quite so loud.

Bluegreen Timeshare Presentation

My time share presentation appointment was at 9:45 this morning. Since it was south of town, I got the van while my mom got all the kids and plans of getting in lots of steps as they walked across the street to the Tanger Outlet and the History of Fishing Museum (they ended up not going because it was expensive).

I arrived right at 9:45 as I didn’t want to get there too early just to hang around.

My parents have been to countless presentations and always said no. Almost everyone I have talked to about timeshares talks about all the fees and how it doesn’t make sense for most people.

All I can say is those people are really (insert your inappropriate word of choice) good at their jobs.

My presenter Jeremy’s weekend job is as a preacher. He spoke a lot about spending time with dying people. How they always regret not spending more time with their families. How their kids talk about family vacations at their funerals.

I almost lost it and y’all know how reserved I tend to be.

Considerations

I thought about the vacations that Kraston and I had always talked about taking and never did. We wanted to take the kids to Orlando. He wanted to take us to Red River.

But we were always too tired or didn’t feel like we had enough money saved. The kids were still little; let’s wait until they are older and less work.

The usual excuses.

I think we only really went on one trip that could really be called a family vacation, one long weekend to Kansas City when my almost 4 year old was about a year and a half old. The older two kids still talk about that trip.

I then thought about Orlando. My mom and I started talking about going for fall break this year, but just last week I told her I didn’t think I wanted to go yet.

I wanted to wait until the baby was older. I considered it a once in a lifetime trip and I wanted the baby to be able to remember it. I wanted to wait until investment guy had made some more money with the life insurance.

Here I was, doing it too.

The usual excuses.

Priorities

Making important things a priority has been a topic of much rumination lately.

I thought about how excited the kids were yesterday morning to go on our trip. How much they have enjoyed being here, even though we haven’t even been here a day yet. The joy and wonder in their voices at the fire shooting out of the top of the volcano as we drove past that dinosaur mini golf place.

Our pain.

Our new life.

We cannot just go back to the way things were.

We need to spend more time making memories and not putting it off until the future.

Travel Dreams

In the presentation he talked about how hotel rooms have doubled in cost every 10 years since the 50s. Hotels do it, because they can.

Because they know people need and want to take vacations.

I don’t know how long this giddy feeling will last, but I’m, like, ridiculously excited about this.

  • I want to go to Orlando, to Hawaii, to Chicago, to New York, to Las Vegas, to Charleston.
  • I want to take the kids to a beach.
  • I bring to take each kid individually on a special ‘date’ weekend over the next year.
  • I want to go somewhere I have never been before.
  • I want to go somewhere on my own.
  • I want to stay somewhere ritzy.
  • I want to stay somewhere rustic.
  • I want to encourage my friends to go on more girls weekends with me.
  • I want to visit my sister when she moves off to some faraway city to to manage fancy theatrical productions.
  • I want to give away nights to someone sometime.

My therapist likes it when I plan and look forward to things. I think I will be able to start checking that box off more often.

This is one of the most spontaneous things I have ever done.

I am a timeshare owner.

Samson Show

I slid back to the cabin just in time to pick up the kids and take them to the 3:30 showing of Samson at the Sight and Sound Theater.

We saw the Moses presentation last year and this was just as good if not better.

The unlikely hero who made lots of mistakes, but in the end, by the grace of God, fulfilled his purpose.

Dinner

We picked up My mom and the baby after the show was out and we went to a pizza buffet for dinner.

They had the cheap foam plates and my 3 year old’s cheese bread (no pizza sauce because he doesn’t eat anything wet) slid off the plate. He was trying to hold a plate of food and carry his own booster seat. I briefly lectured him on doing one thing at a time.

Then I went and got him more cheese bread. I got my water. And then his cheese bread slid onto the flood. Good grief.

I took my water to the table and told him what had happened. I apologized and explained that the plates were slippery and it was was easy to do and not to worry about it. We’d get him a third plate of cheese bread.

Evening

After we got him, the baby went to sleep pretty easily after her quick bedtime routine (diaper change, calming/teething tablets, Nighty Night oils, and a blessing).

My 9 year old put himself to bed at the same time, with just a blessing.

My 3 year old needed help finding the wheel to one of his trucks (because you have to have at least fully tired trucks in your bed to sleep) and a few minutes of ‘mom’ time because he settled in.

My 6 year old was spending time with Nana and was insulted when I interrupted. So I laid on her bed to peruse my new Bluegreen resort picture book. After she felt like I had appropriately waited her out, she came to bed and looked at the pictures with me for a while.

Final Note

Whew, not even sure how to end this one. It is late, but I’m still excited. Probably need to pull out my bible to relax and settle down enough to sleep.

How about some reader participation questions for y’all to answer in the comments below?

When is the last vacation you took and are there any vacations you have been putting off?

Good Night, friends!

 

18 thoughts on “Friday Frankness #2 – Timeshare, Travel Dreams and Samson”

  1. I’ve went on a few vacations with my girlfriends. One was the Waterfall Trip around Oklahoma. One was to San Antonio. One was to New York. One to Las Vegas. Another to Lake Havasu, AZ and yet another to Colorado. But I still have lots of places I want to go to!

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  2. Vacations are sometimes expensive but usually worth the smiles and experiences. Most of our mini-Vacations center around ballgames or agriculture activities. We just try to enjoy a hotel/cabin and at least one semi-formal dinner. I have never regretted any trips. I will learn how to save a few dollars and go more often.

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  3. Branson last December is the last vacation we took, but also had a very fun long weekend visiting my brother-in-law and his wife in Fort Worth in February. Most of our “vacations” are visiting family, traveling with family (my entire family is going to Estes Park in July), or visiting Mark’s best friend who is a priest in Missouri. We considered driving to DC and seeing quite a few other places this summer, but money and the Estes Park trip and the idea of taking four pretty young kids to museums and memorials and religious sites seemed daunting. I’d like to do that trip sometime though and go back to Disney World someday too.

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    • Maggie, I think that is nice that your family travels together. That is not something we have ever done much. We did go several times to South Carolins growing up to see my uncle and cousins. My mom is with me here in Branson, but it would be fun to plan a trip with my siblings. I will start talking about that with them. I agree that maybe DC could wait until the kids are a bit older.

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  4. Last summer we went to Red River Nm, my favorite place. I had been waiting two years to go back. I was so excited to take our kids to my favorite vacation spot. But then, I almost cancelled our plans. I didn’t want to go anymore. Almost every year as a child we would vacation in RR. Every year my family and Krastons family would go down there together. RR had so many good memories of Karnesa, Kraston, Michelle and I. I knew that it wasn’t fair to my kids to cancel. So we went, and I only cried once thinking of all the memories we made growing up.
    Make the memories, Amanda. We only have one life to live.

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  5. Wow! You are just coming alive w new adventures! We have never been time share owners but we have many friends who have shared w us! Our vacations when the kids were young were generally visited family who lived far away or trips where Mel had to speak or do continuing education! One of those trips was to Disneyland in CA! We would visit interesting places on the way to these destinations & loved making memories! My own childhood with four siblings was much the same. Since my Dad was a minister he would attend conferences in different parts of the United States w family in tow & we covered most of the country. It was generally two weeks of fun, travel, car games, interesting food etc! We siblings often refer to those memories when we get together! Our daughter invited us to go with them in July to Ruidoso!!! We’re going. I think you made a wonderful decision, and your children will thank you later❤️❤️❤️❤️

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    • Thanks, Pat! I also have very fond memories of our vacations growing up. The long road trips to South Carolina and the random stops along the way there and back were fun. The kids all did really well in the car driving up to Branson, so I’m looking forward to more car trips. Ooh, Ruidoso sounds fun!

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  6. As a family we have been on one a year! We went skiing in December and had a blast! Currently I am planning a trip for my Husband Michael and I to washington DC! It has been on my bucket list since the 5th grade.

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  7. We just got back from a Disney cruise. It was our 2nd one and both times, our kiddo has asked when we’re going again because we all love it and the time together.

    The memories are worth more than every dollar we spend to take the vacation. Take the time and use the money to make the memories; they’ll stick with all of you for a lifetime.

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  8. Hi Amanda, I’ve been a BG owner for over a decade-my parents longer; they added my brother and me to the deeds when my brother wanted to go to FL when he was 18 (and came back with a a tattoo and his tongue pierced). I’ve stayed at all Branson area resorts, The Fountains in Orlando (a few times), Cibola Vista in Peoria, AZ, the resort in Virginia (Shenandoah Crossing or something like that), and my brother and my parents have gone to Gatlinburg 3 or 4 times and they LOVE it. They went to the Dells in Wisconsin last summer while I took my niece to Orlando. Let me know if you have any questions!

    And obviously, I’m a little behind on all your posts. 🙂

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    • No worries, Stephanie. I am glad to hear from a fellow BG owner. I am planning some more trips to Branson and I have started planning a trip to Florida for December for oldest daughter’s birthday. I’m pretty excited about it all.

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