Do you consider visiting family to be a vacation?

[charming23]

Visiting family is not a vacation. It is just not relaxing enough to call it that around here so we refer to them as just weekends away.

 

[Mama Who]

Remove her from facebook and block her phone number. Tell your boyfriend to handle his own mother and her issues. Opt out of future visits.

 

[daisyduck123]

No way! I consider taking a vacation and visiting family to be two completely separate things.

This, exactly.

 

[npmommie]

The only family that is not local is my dad and I absolutely consider it a vacation He lives in the Lake Champlain Islands, has over 550 feet of waterfront with a dock, pool, game room and even a playground and bouncehouse for the grandkids. It's one step away from being at a resort but better because we get to see my dad

can I come visit your dad??
I love that area. we once spent a few days on N. Hero Island

 

[MsPeggySue911]

If you leave your house and it costs you money then it is a vacation. Sounds like you have more family issues. I would never go see ppl I didn't want to see no matter who it bothered.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

can I come visit your dad??
I love that area. we once spent a few days on N. Hero Island

My brother lives on North Hero Island My dad is in Alburgh. I love it up there.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

We love visiting family (and having them visit us). We also love trips without family. They can both be vacations, but I find that neither is really relaxing. We just can't sit still.

 

[DSNY4ever]

No. I like my family but I don't consider it a vacation at all. I often have a good time, but usually we are there for a holiday or event such as a wedding/birthday/baby shower etc. Fun events, but not a vacation.

 

[ALittleDisneyFan]

If I were you, I'd just pay for her ticket to visit you and put the $ you would spend on visiting her towards a vacation that doesn't involve her.

 

[StephMK]

We love visiting family (and having them visit us). We also love trips without family. They can both be vacations, but I find that neither is really relaxing. We just can't sit still.

Agreed! We saw my parents for vaca last week & went to the beach, the kids went to the pool, fishing, & golf w/ my dad & we did some sightseeing. Next week, I'm going to take the kids to visit my MIL/FIL while DH has to work. We are going shopping, possibly to the lake & some other event MIL wants to take the kids to. Luckily, I love both sets so while tiring, I do love seeing them & consider it vacations.

Our Disney trip was just us but was in no way really relaxing!

 

[RockAndRollBallerina]

Nope, just tried to vacation while visiting my sister in Florida, didn't work

 

[mjantz]

Visiting family is not a vacation. DH & I had to iron this out when we got married as he had only been to visit family or to religious conventions as 'vacations' when he was growing up. I grew up going all sorts of places, family or not. If we had family in the area we were vacationing at that was awesome but it would never be our sole reason for traveling somewhere.
We've reached a medium now where if we want or need to visit family (like for a wedding or graduation) we find other things to do in the area. So, for example, when our nephew graduated from HS in Washington State we went up there a week before everyone else & spent some time in Seattle as well as heading up North to Canada. We spent the second week with family.
One thing that makes visiting the in-laws NOT a vacation is that they live in an incredibly rural area & at least 2 hours from anyplace that could be considered a vacation destination. So any time we spend there is just spent there. Doing nothing but being totally bored. It's not a vacation, it's an obligation. And that's ok but I feel the need to separate the two.

 

[Goofyluver]

No.

Because "vacation" doesn't require work or effort, and visiting family equals both.

 

[M5ward]

While visiting family is certainly not a vacation like WDW is a vacation, I could never think of it as an obligation (which sort of seems to be what a lot of posters think.) Family is too important. For all those who view visiting family as an obligation, I hate to think of the time when you would like your (then) grown children and their families to come see you. What goes around comes around.

 

[shortbun]

I was a travel agent for 27 years and visiting family is definitely NOT a vacation. It's taking time off to visit family. I've had family ruin vacations when they came with us. Like someone else said, block them from your facebook page and go to WDW. If your boyfriend feels obligated to see him mother, he can fly up and do it some other time.

 

[mjantz]

While visiting family is certainly not a vacation like WDW is a vacation, I could never think of it as an obligation (which sort of seems to be what a lot of posters think.) Family is too important. For all those who view visiting family as an obligation, I hate to think of the time when you would like your (then) grown children and their families to come see you. What goes around comes around.

If I act like my in-laws act when we visit then I would expect my kids & hypothetical grandkids to treat me as an obligation. I agree that family is important & that is why we visit. But we don't enjoy it (or at least I don't ). I don't enjoy sitting around all day doing nothing. I don't enjoy not being able to run to the store or mall just to get out for a bit. I don't like being in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do & nowhere to go.
We will always visit because that's what family does. But I'm not going to lie & say I enjoy it as much as our yearly vacations.

 

[worm761]

While visiting family is certainly not a vacation like WDW is a vacation, I could never think of it as an obligation (which sort of seems to be what a lot of posters think.) Family is too important. For all those who view visiting family as an obligation, I hate to think of the time when you would like your (then) grown children and their families to come see you. What goes around comes around.

In this particular instance, she doesn't actually acknowledge that I am my daughters mother. She is solely Boyfriends child. I am not sure how she thinks he had her all on his own though. I have no desire to visit someone that doesn't even feel that I am a part of our family. He does have an Aunt, his father and step mother, siblings, nieces and nephews, and two living grandparents to visit. So the visits DO happen. She just happens to think that if we have the money to go to Disney then we should be spending that money visiting HER. And her alone. He isn't supposed to visit his father because we are there to see her and she is the only that matters. <--Her words, not mine. She says the same about us stopping to visit my family.

For what it is worth, Boyfriend got the exact same text that I did. Told me it was OK to put her in her place. He did the same. Hopefully it solves the issue but highly doubt it since he explained to her, once again, that he has a family here (me and the kids) and that he will do what he wants with us and she doesn't get an opinion in it. Her last text simply stated that his "other family" will be there when he decides to go back.

Thanks for all the support. I really was just wondering if I was the only one that thought visiting family wasn't a vacation. When I lived in New York, I visited my family in Ohio just about every other month. But I never considered it to be vacation. Sure we did things like zoos and Cedar Point but it wasn't a real vacation.

 

[disney1990]

I do not consider going home to visit to be a real vacation. All we do is sit at someones house and chat. I can do that at home. My family is in Ohio and his is in New York. We are in Florida. His mother and I don't like each other so I really, really don't consider visiting her to be a vacation for me. These trips are not fun. They cost a fortune and neither one of us really like to go. We go since he feels an obligation to go visit his mother. If we are traveling past my family, I feel we should stop and see them. My father lives with me in Florida so it is just siblings, cousins and one uncle all on my mother's side in Ohio. My father's family lives around me.

I just got a text basically saying that Boyfriend doesn't love his family because we are going to Disney in October for his birthday and not to see her. We were up there last July and she was here in April. The only reason she even wants him to visit is because we have a DD. She doesn't care to see him, myself or my son. She has repeatedly made the comment that me, my son, and my family don't matter to my daughter or in my daughters life. See why I don't like her? So it got me thinking since this came about because she went to my Facebook page (I know but she is not my FB friend at ALL) and read something that I wrote to someone else about how this will be our first real vacation in three years. I really really hate drama unless it is on Big Brother, then I love it!

No, I do not consider visiting family a vacation. Growing up, the only "vacations" we ever took were visiting family - no trips to anyplace else, whatsoever. I decided when I had a family, that like would be different. And it definitely has been.

 

[fireflymedic]

If I have to use my AL from work it better be a vacation. I usually find something fun to do while I'm their. Museim, zoo something

 

[Andtototoo]

While visiting family is certainly not a vacation like WDW is a vacation, I could never think of it as an obligation (which sort of seems to be what a lot of posters think.) Family is too important. For all those who view visiting family as an obligation, I hate to think of the time when you would like your (then) grown children and their families to come see you. What goes around comes around.

If one does not enjoy visiting family, then it simply is an obligation.

It's great if you enjoy visiting your family. Some of us are not so lucky. Please avoid judging what you do not know.

And I know that when my dd comes to visit me once she is grown, I will not expect her to sit in a small dark room for three days and watch religious programming and eat re-heated Hamburger Helper from the week before.