Early on, our thoughts were very clear – we would never let the girls activities stop us from getting away on weekends. Many other families had often remarked that when the kids get older it gets much harder… Extra curricular activities, sports, dancing, friends, birthday parties etc all suddenly become very important.
So far we have been pretty lucky… Ashlee LOVES to sing, dance and act. Last year she started with a local theatre group and she had a blast, it was perfect for us as rehearsals were on a Monday after school so we could still get away for our weekends and her big show was in the middle of Winter. All finished up before our big Red Centre adventure in August. Tennis then started for both girls towards the end of the year, which is a crazy busy time for the whole family and we tend to spend the month leading into Christmas locally. We survived that year with little disruption to our caravanning adventures. How long will this last?
We tend to do most of our caravanning between Jan and May – then again Sept – Nov. When Ashlee said she wanted to audition for The Sound of Music with STAG (Shepparton Theatre Arts Group), we thought it would be good fun for her. It was only an audition. It was a ‘real’ ‘grown up’ production and we didn’t think she would be successful. In the back of our minds “What if she gets in?…how will it affect our caravanning plans?” Well, you guessed it! Ashlee won the role of Marta and was beside herself with excitement.
Looking at how excited, proud and blown away she was, we could not deny her the opportunity of a lifetime, just so we could jump in the van. We looked at her rehearsal schedule and most of them were on Tues nights and Sunday arvos… PERFECT…there are truck loads of things to see and do within 2 hours of our home town. We can still manage to hook up and head off on Friday after school and be back by Sunday lunch for Ashlee to get to rehearsals. PHEW!! Everyone wins.
Definitely only a first world problem, but one many families will face as their children grow up. Missing school, committing to sporting teams, dancing rehearsals, time with friends, birthday parties – all, equally, important parts of childhood and growing up. We are going to try and balance all of these things AND the adventures of caravanning. Ensuring that we embrace ALL the moments we have together as a family – whether that is a quick night away or weeks on the road.
Do extra curricular activities interrupt your caravanning and camping expeditions?
Have you seen our Travel Journals??