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Every summer it happens. You pack up the little kids, drive to the beach or the grandparents, and somewhere around day three in an unfamiliar Airbnb with no blackout curtains and a toddler who won't sleep, you wonder why you thought this would be fun. Sterling Jaquith has a reframe that changes the whole thing: stop calling it a vacation.

In this evergreen episode you can come back to before any trip, Sterling walks through why little kids won't remember the vacation anyway, what they do remember, and the three honest questions to ask before you go. It's permission to stop chasing "relaxing" with a houseful of tired, dysregulated humans, and to plan the trip like the world's best personal assistant instead. Because the answer, through all of it, is always love. Including love for yourself.

WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why calling it a "vacation" is the first trap, and treating the trip like a business trip with a mission and a plan instead
• The honest truth that you may not enjoy it with little kids, and why that doesn't mean anything has gone wrong
• The three questions to ask before you go: What's my mission? What three feelings am I actually going for? How do I set myself up for those?
• Creating novelty on the cheap (crazy straws, Goodwill toys, stovetop popcorn, pop rocks, and the screen time you'd normally say no to)
• Planning something that's just for you, whether it's before, during, or after the trip
• Why Catholic moms living only for everyone else isn't how God designed you, and how to love yourself hard through the hard parts

EPISODE TIMELINE:

• [00:00] – Why this is your reference episode for every future summer, holiday, and spring break
• [04:00] – "I don't think you can enjoy it." The coaching conversation that started this
• [08:00] – What kids actually remember, and why Sterling makes a photo book every year
• [12:00] – The three questions: mission, the top three feelings, and setting yourself up to feel them
• [16:00] – Creating novelty, building in real breaks, and planning something for you
• [19:00] – The answer is always love, and why God doesn't want you at the end of your rope

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Rhythm of War which is Book 4 of the Stormlight Series by Brandon Sanderson (the audiobook Sterling and her husband listened to on their cross-country drive): https://amzn.to/4w34nwC
• Calm Catholic Kids (Summer of Kindness stories free now, Collections 4 and 5 coming soon): https://calmcatholickids.com

CONNECT WITH STERLING JAQUITH:

• Website: https://catholicmomcalm.com
• Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catholicmomcalm