I Want to Live on a Family Compound by the Beach

January 18, 2013 17 Comments

I’m participating in Finish the Sentence Friday. To play, one blogger starts a sentence and everyone gets to spin a story from it. This weeks prompt:

The last time I went on vacation, I…

Holgate, NJ

…discovered I want to live on a family compound by the beach in Jersey.

Sounds insane, right?

My mom planned a trip to Holgate, New Jersey, a skinny little strip of land at the southern tip of Long Beach Island. She rented a beautiful house half a block from the Atlantic and half a block from the bay.

She invited the clan for the week. This included my family (5 of us plus the dog), my sister’s family (+4) and my brother’s family (+4 more).

One big, happy, loud family under one roof. I was worried. What were the chances we would all get out alive? Vacations with my kids are always stressful and exhausting. How could adding more kids to the equation be fun?

The more the merrier!

It was the most relaxing vacation I have ever taken with my kids. I still did laundry and cooking and taking care of the kids, but my mom, sister and I fell into a supportive routine without saying a word.

If I cooked, someone else would come along and clean up the kitchen before I had finished eating.
I’d start the laundry and forget about it. A few hours later I’d come back and find it was already finishing up in the dryer. I’d fold it and move the next load to the dryer. Next time I walked by, it would be folded. Mysteriously.
Keeping the house straightened, laundry done and all the people fed and happy didn’t sit on my shoulders. And the best part? I never once had to ask anyone to help!
My nephew took over walking the dog and entertaining the dog.
There were enough adults around so the kids could do what they wanted, like take the Butterfly for ice cream or stay home and watch Tangled again with the little ones.
I didn’t have to drive my mini-van all week. If I wanted to go somewhere, I could hop in my dad’s convertible instead.

It was easy living and I was one seriously happy mom. We had a ton of fun together. The kids were always entertained. I realized I could live this way all the time.

This left me with a few options.

Move in with my sister.
Live on a commune.
Let Dave have two more wives, so I can have sister wives.
Buy a family compound so we can all live together comfortably.

I think a family compound by the beach is the only realistic option. I’ll be able to swing the purchase right after publishing a bestseller. Or winning lotto.

Holgate, NJ

Want to participate? Finish the sentence in the comments section! Or if you are a blogger, write a post and link up through the image below.

http://janinehuldie.com/ Janine Huldie

Awesome ending to the sentence and sounds like your family vacation was so much more relaxing then mine. Wish I could have been on yours, lol Thanks for linking up again!!
Jane Marsh

Alt title for this post: why the nuclear family sucks, eh?
http://amylandisman.com/ Amy

I think it will get easier as your girls get older. We ended up coming home early from some of our vacations in the past because they were so much more stressful than being at home!
Rachel Harper

This was awesome Amy, it sounded like an actual, relaxing vacation.
Cyndi

Write that bestseller, Amy. haha. I’ll promote it with you. A compound at the beach sounds great.
Emily

That does sound really great, especially the part about the laundry being mysteriously folded! I had a similar vacation once where four families rented a house together in Costa Rica. So, there were 8 adults and 11 kids between us. Of course it helped that this “house” (more like a mini hotel) came with a staff including a chef who cooked all our meals. But, what we found is that when we were all together, we did what we called, “group parenting.” If some kids wanted to go to the beach, a few parents would go and watch them and the rest of us could hang back by the pool, and so on. We all helped watch each other’s kids and it was great. I think you’re onto something with this family compound idea!
http://amylandisman.com/ Amy

Yes! That is exactly how the parenting worked for us on this trip. It was so great because the kids were happy and we didn’t feel like we were doing back flips to keep them that way. And Costa Rica with a staff sounds like heaven.
http://amylandisman.com/ Amy

*sigh* I wish is was that easy!
http://amylandisman.com/ Amy

I think it will get easier as your girls get older. We ended up coming home early from some of our vacations in the past because they were so much more stressful than being at home!
http://amylandisman.com/ Amy

That’s a much better title! And so true…
http://amylandisman.com/ Amy

It was relaxing and I was completely shocked!
http://www.facebook.com/clark.scottroger.1 Clark Scottroger

I agree with you about how living at the shore is an ideal. Years ago, Phyllis and I rented an apartment that overlooked the ocean. To the left you could see Jamestown and Newport and to the right, Block Island. The shoreline was very rocky, so it was not much good for swimming, but looking out the window everyday and seeing the ocean (and hearing it and smelling it) perfect!
Same plans for the Best Seller, get a place on the ocean to complete the totally much anticipated sequel!
http://www.facebook.com/jennifer.beznoskamcleod Jennifer Beznoska McLeod

A compound would be awesome, Amy! I’d be down with something like that. I could not ever do the wife things, much less the sister wives thing. Now, the surrogate sex partner, MAYBE…I think they call them an FWB? Definitely a must do with Jason Statham. Who needs to be a wife anyway? (No offense, ladies. You all have great marriages.) Not this female, been there, done that. If a miracle ever happened, and I actually got married again, I would definitely have to have my own bedroom, that’s for sure! (Shh, a long time ago, my ex-boyfriend kicked me out of his apartment at 3 a.m. because I was snoring too loudly). I am glad for the women I have met in blogging, and I kinda feel like the odd ball, not married and enjoying single life. But, believe me, I do read every one of your love stories, I so trolled Lauren’s blog from Filing-jointly when I first came across her. ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ Problem is, not everyone lives in that truth like they should.
http://amylandisman.com/ Amy

Wow! That sounds like a perfect spot! I love the Newport area – we’ve spent the past 7 years vacationing in Newport. This was the first year we tried something different. Get to work on that best seller -and I’ll get to work on mine!
http://canigetanotherbottleofwhine.blogspot.com/ Kate Hall

Gosh, that sounds awesome! I think that’s part of the reason moms have it so hard – we have so little physical support with the kids. Parents don’t typically live nearby and we’re trying to do it all ourselves. So hard. Great vacation! Thanks for linking up!
http://jdeneen.com/ Julie DeNeen

I’ve long thought having some sister wives might not be such a bad thing…..eh…never mind. A maid. I want four please!
Melanie Chisnall

I’m listening to some sounds of nature on Youtube while reading this and instantly imagined myself living like you described, but in the middle of a forest next to a stream, happily cooking and doing laundry with everyone helping – smiles on their faces, no stress. Oh the life! Thanks for the escape from reality today – it was a fun “mind-cation”!