Grouches in paradise

This week, the kids and I are tagging along on a business trip with my husband.

To Hawaii.

I know. Already there is no way you are going to feel sorry for me.

And I didn't even tell you yet that it's supposed to be sunny with temps in the low 80s all week.

Also, did I mention the expense account that is paying for a lovely hotel room just a couple blocks from the beach?

Still, there I was, grumpy and stressed out today. Yesterday, too. We'll start off with a nod to the hormones that typically make me more grumpy and stressed out one week of the month. Add in four hours of sleep and a six-and-a-half hour plane ride with restless children. Cranky, overtired children who woke up at 5 a.m. this morning, no doubt endearing us to the people in the room next door.

You still don't feel sorry for me, do you?

That's the curse of visiting a tropical paradise. Too much pressure to enjoy yourself. You're in Hawaii! You should be having fun! All the time! Even if the seat belt straps in the rental car are trapped under the seat and you can't figure out how to get them out! Even if the booster seats you lugged all the way here don't fit correctly! Even if your son pukes on the way to the hotel! It's Hawaii! Enjoy every moment! The expectation for happiness is entirely too high. It's much easier for me to be happy just walking to the mailbox.

I know, you are looking outside at the snow and ice and thinking about things like wind chill and rejoicing if the local weather report indicates temperatures may rise above freezing sometime next week. And you are already sick and tired of me, with my complaints about how my children are acting like the kids at the beginning of a Supernanny episode. How they keep complaining about everything we are not doing, how they never all want to do the same thing at the same time, how they raided the stash of candy I was saving for the plane ride home, how they aren't listening to anything I say, how they no longer respond to threats or incentives, and how my husband and I have to tell them to put on their shoes a hundred times before they do it.

I have to admit, though, I did get to lie on a beach today. There never came a point where all three kids wanted to go to the beach, but I was adamant about going, and everyone ended up having a good time. By the end they were all playing together, some adventure they had created using plastic digging tools. I had to be the one to tell them it was time to go, because it was time to meet my husband back at the hotel and go for a swim in the pool. I know, rough, right? Especially because the boys were playing all the crazy pool games while I just sat on the edge with my feet in the water and watched my daughter splash around in the kiddie pool.

Maybe after a few good nights of sleep, the kids will cheer up and start enjoying their vacation more. But even if they stay grouchy, I will keep trying to be happy. Because, I'm in Hawaii! Lying on a beach in my swimsuit in January! And if all else fails, I will remember that for a few hours each night the kids will be sleeping and I won't have to listen to anyone complain or remind anyone to put on their shoes.