Sometimes in life you want to hit the pause button. At the end of the summer our little ‘pause’ was a few nights stay in Mallorca. It was one of those holidays that was booked in plenty time, months in advance, we had a count down on the notice board, then my Dad got sick. Really sick.
His last few months were filled with paper work, forms & so much adulting, I don’t know how I managed it. I was burnt out, completely exhausted and needed a break from it all. My Dad passed away and I just couldn’t face being around it all, I couldn’t be at home and I didn’t want to look at any of his belongings that were piled up around my house. The sun, the sea (swimming pool) and ice cream was just what everyone needed, more than we realized we did and it couldn’t have escaped at a better time.
Have you ever seen the quick change in faces of a line of people when they realise the 3 kids under 4 standing next to you are on their flight? Le Sigh. My kids are wonderful at flying. Its me you don’t want to be sat next to. I cry from the moment the entire revs up, until the moment the wheels pop out and we skid along the run way and finally stop. I just cannot get to grips with the fact that I could just fall out of the air. At any moment. I’ve never been very good at it and thankful have only ever experienced minimal turbulence, but it never sits right with me.
We flew at 3am. We woke the kids and popped them into the car in their jammies and jumpers with their little back packs full of things to keep them occupied. 3am flights with kids? I’m never sure its a good idea, but, it worked. Worked really really well. Everyone napped and were on top form for the other side and raring to go when their skin felt that warm sunshine as we stepped out of the airport.
We did a lot of nothing, we woke up and pottered around and ate breakfast, wandered the resort and went swimming. We napped and then stopped for lunch before filling the evening with more swimming and food. We did resort things and watched the kids dance on the stage with people dressed as giant monkeys, and if you have ever been you’ll know the songs that get stuck in your head. That the kids still sing now as they wander the house in a conga line. The kids enjoyed the freedom of being able to run around in the sunshine, in and out of the little pool, grabbing ice cream and hugs. Telling us how much the loved being on holidays and if we could move there. And I sat and enjoyed the freedom of letting them be without worrying and floated around on a burger shaped float.
We visited the local town, El Arenal, on a wacky races coach ride. An good 35 mins in the sweltering heat and the kids fell asleep on the bus. It’s a bustling little seaside town full of touristy shops, which I LOVE, the printed fabrics blowing out around in the wind and all the kids names on headbands, keyrings and bracelets. We picked up a bowl for our neighbor, a couple of gifts for Ruby’s classmates and wandered along the beach with some ice creams. We had lunch and did a little people watching along the coast before heading back to the villa. Lucy fell asleep in my arms and her little sweaty head lay on my shoulder like he was a tiny baby again.
This post wasn’t much about the holiday, but more to share the images with you. We visited Mallorca back in August and a lot of this got lost and forgotten. I felt silly sharing it all so long after we had been, but how could I not share these little faces? The circumstances at the time weren’t great, but I am sure it’s a time they will remember when they are older. Their first little villa holiday and ice cream on tap.
I couldn’t have left these sitting in a folder on the computer, never to see the light of day… So I hope sharing them with you, you can see the happiness that helped me through some really tough weeks.
Moving at a slower pace was good for the soul. And Mallorca was just that. We’ll go back and visit when the kids are bigger, they’ve asked every other day since we got home when we’ll be going back on the aeroplane. It would be lovely to visit again and explore more of the island, the history and some of the tourist spots. We have a bit of a travel bucket list going and its most definitely on there for when they are a little big bigger.
Have you had a favorite trip away recently? We’d love more inspiration for our travel list!
You can visit the Instagram story highlights for this trip here: Mallorca.
