Weekly Thread: Let’s Brag About Our Kids

How have they impressed you recently?

Greetings everyone! We are on our first family vacation to Europe! I’m writing from a rental car on an early morning trip to the Iceland airport — we just spent four days in rural Iceland, which was absolutely breathtaking, and are now on our way to London.

Here’s a photo I took from the car:

I’ll be honest and admit that I had been bracing myself for a lot of tough kid moments on this trip. My kids have never been easy travelers. They don’t like changes to routine and don’t do well on little sleep.

Well, they have really impressed me this time. I think it’s mostly their age — they are now 9 and 12 and able to handle much more. They have been amazing! We didn’t sleep a wink on the overnight flight to Europe and yet they were troopers all throughout the first day. (I mean, the 9yo had a few screamy moments.) They’ve also been trying tons of local foods, which would shock you if you knew how picky they used to be. I feel like they are different kids all of a sudden, and vacation actually feels like vacation again. (I feel like we are in a magic short-lived window — traveling with teens will pose its own challenges, I know.)

For today’s discussion, I want to know what your kids have done recently that has made you proud. In other words, brag about your amazing progeny! I’m giving you full permission. I know this may be a tough time for many of you enduring back-to-school transitions; it can be helpful to reflect on kids’ strengths, even as they struggle.