Rick Baraff
Adventure Athlete
Ahh, Spring Break. Time to smash the ‘out of office’ button on the work emails, pack the swim trunks (or ski gear, or camping/fishing stuff) and... get the pulse rate soaring by going off somewhere exotic with your entire family! Yikes. We’re not in college anymore. We have adult responsibilities and sometimes, gasp, families to attend to. And more often than not, if you’ve got young ones, you’re probably off to see granny and gramps or some cousins or some combo of something straight out of a movie in the Vacation series (Christmas Vacation, anyone?)
Maybe you’re one of the lucky ones who vacations at the beach or a lake or beautiful cabin in the woods where stress is far, far away — at least on the outside. Beauty only goes so far when you’ve got to deal with making sure everyone is fed, getting the itinerary for the day straight, having all the right clothes and accessories available and in working order, and more. It can be stressful even if things go right!
Ideas For Enjoying Spring Break With Kids
Here are a few ideas for keeping sane with your family, from someone with a high-energy and extended family.
Rule 1 of Family Vacation: Don’t Be Afraid To Go It Alone
No, I don’t mean leaving everyone back home while you sneak off to Hawaii by yourself. I mean go take that walk, swim, ski run, or hike by yourself. Give an upfront time that you’ll be back but it’s totally okay to need some time to yourself. If you’ve got good support, they should be fine with this. Besides, isn’t this exactly why you dragged granny along or went to visit the cousins?
Rule 2 of Family Vacation: Eat Well & Stay Hydrated
Yes, this sounds like the opposite of having a fun and decadent vacation, but if vacations are about resetting and restoring, maybe you can take this time to commit (or recommit) to that health kick. Another reason is that family vacations usually take MORE energy than normal daily life, so if you’re feeling good, your sanity will be more resilient.
Yes, this is where we tout our own proud family — our super easy, on-the-go, vacation-stress-relieving, energy-enhancing line of supplements for whatever life throws at you. Start breakfast with our rather indulgent chocolate mousse flavored START formula. It’s packed with six premium forms of protein, slow-release caffeine, and a slew of adaptogens to help your body deal with stress, fatigue, and muscle building.
Rule 3 of Family Vacation: Indulge
Okay, you were waiting for this one, right? Quite the opposite of rule #2, but we’re not contradicting ourselves. Read on. Truth be told, there’s lots of room for both eating healthy, staying sane, and indulgence.
In fact, if you do enough things throughout the day to keep yourself healthy – like some Mdrive Multi and Start protein powder in the morning and/or some Mdrive Lean or Brain formula as a decadent afternoon snack shake – then you’ll be better positioned to truly indulge in some vices. And by the way, we can note that we have zero rules about adding a nip of your favorite alcohol to your afternoon tankard of Brain. It is Chocolate/Berry flavor, after all.
We should also highly note that many of our products have rejuvenating and repairing properties built right in! Our adaptogens, amino acids, and proteins help build and repair muscle damage and mental stress while helping to balance out your energy levels, and boost your body’s immunity system.
So don’t be afraid to indulge yourself — as decorum and the situation dictates, of course. Heck, it’s YOUR vacation, too, right? Even within the ‘confines’ of family time, it should be okay to let your proverbial hair down a bit and have that second margarita. You’re probably somewhere that you don’t have to worry about getting around in a vehicle.
Rule 4 of Family Vacation: When All Else Fails, Do What Prince Would Do... Go Crazy!
Toss caution and sanity to the wind and join your own family circus. Grab someone and twirl them around. Jump in the lake together. Take off your skis and have a snowball fight. Kick a ball over the fence. Eat spaghetti with your fingers. Whatever! At least it will be liberating to NOT hold onto that tension and anxiety!
Remember: Smiling releases a mass of good-for-you endorphins!