A tradition has caught on in my family. The vacation awards.
Here is how the vacation awards program works.
We announce that there will be an awards ceremony held on the final night of the vacation. No one knows who is giving or receiving the awards. The challenge is to keep a lookout for award-worthy recognition. The cardinal rule for the final awards is that they must be kind.
This little tradition does one major thing. It helps us all pay attention with the intention of appreciation.
Throughout the week of this past Andrews sisters’ vacation, there was a bit of daily chatter over what might receive an award. This proves to be as much fun as the awards night itself.
When our most quiet sibling announced in a fairly dramatic way, there was no hot water in the guest bathroom; we kidded about nominating her for the Speak Up Award.
The eldest sibling was jokingly ribbed that perhaps we should nominate her for a Parking Award when after pulling into a spot, the other three of us looked at each other, and one of us reparked the car.
The sister least prone to conflict ended up receiving a Navigation Award. She was the copilot on most of our travels, and that took knowing when and where to give kind and clear verbal directions.
Several runners-up awards didn’t make it to the final podium. But we picked names from a hat on the night of our awards. We crudely committed our awards to paper with pen and paper and presented them with a flourish to each other at the dinner table.
Sometimes an award can be given after the trip!
During our Andrews Sisters’ time in Texas, we traveled to Galveston and enjoyed the beach. I took off my sneakers so that we could wade into the water. I put on some flip-flops to leave the beach, and I realized my socks weren’t with my sneakers, and they were gone, left on the beach. The funny thing was that in the few days remaining, my sneakers were noticeable tight. I assumed drinking less water and eating the rich food on the trip meant my joints were swelling. I limped in those sneakers playing pickleball and getting in a final sisters’ walk around the park, all the while swearing to drink more water when I got home.
After a day back, I put my sneakers back on and was surprised they were still as tight as before. I don’t know what possessed me to finally dig my hand into the toe of the shoe to pull out that missing sock. All of a sudden, my sneakers fit so much better. In our group chat, I had to tell my sisters, and one of them responded, “Now that could have been award-worthy!”
What a fun way to “be here now” when you’re spending time together. And it doesn’t matter what age you are. all can participate. I love how everything is framed in an affirming way. A great way to model and practice a positive perspective. We are planning a family trip in March and I’m going to adopt this! Thank you for sharing this!
Your shoe story reminded me of a time my FIL lost his keys after a trip to the ER. After many, many phone calls and going to the hospital’s lost n found, we found them in his shoes about a week later – after he complained that his shoes were hurting him!
That is hilarious Yvonne and good to know I am not alone. Yes please do let me know how the awards banquet goes. I bring along some paper and basic art supplies and the kids will love it. No complaining about not being an “artist”.