By Sinaiyouth 
You know how when you take a Peloton class they always congratulate you for coming? I want that in my everyday life. I want the gate agents to clap when we get to the gate. I want the waiters to bring a piece of cake because we arrived at the restaurant five minutes before our reservation. I want the museum staff to hang a banner celebrating our arrival.
I wanted a medal after doing this very short hike for the effort it took to get out of the house.
What I learned early on as a mom is that it’s much easier for me to be outside than to be stuck in our play area. If it’s pouring rain, I’m always at the playground. Or pack a picnic to extend story time at the library as long as possible. Or keep a spreadsheet of regular local events so you always have ideas for where to go on any given day. On the days we don’t leave the house, I collapse under the weight of balancing domestic responsibilities, the siren call of work emails, and a child tugging at my sleeve. That’s when I feel the failure of “You can have it all!” I dream the most, and torn in so many directions, I end up going in circles.
But the hardest part of going out, and of big trips too, is simply GETTING OUT OF THE HOUSE. You would think, as someone who does this every day, whether for school or for fun, that it would be easier. Ha, ha, ha, that’s not the case.
Preparation begins several days before.
I’m not talking about packing – although I often pack well in advance if I can get away with laundry – but about getting the kids ready.
Toddlers thrive on consistency and routine. Travel naturally disrupts this.
For a big trip, we start talking about it weeks in advance, often reading books about the plane, the beach, or whatever we’ll see to continue subconsciously preparing for it. At dinner time, we’ll discuss the logistics of the days ahead: “We’re going into town on Friday! I’ll pick you up from school and we’ll take a long drive down the highway, through the tunnels and into town. We’ll see so many skyscrapers!”
I’m sure you remember the 5 Ws of English from primary school: who, what, where, when and why. We don’t always go through more than one “W”, but I find that the more I explain in advance, the fewer crises we have when we get there.
It literally takes half an hour or more to get in the car.
On the day itself, we’re at the gate for so long before we have to leave, it’s ridiculous. Yet we always manage to leave five minutes late. Our routine before departure is as follows:
Release time: I call that we will be leaving “soon”. I pack my lunches, gather my things, pack the car, and make sure I’m done eating and getting ready. Sometimes it’s easy, like in the morning, while they’re still eating breakfast. Other times I pause the game, which doesn’t go as well.
Half hour outing: I call that we will leave in “ten minutes”. We finish the current game, then I do my best to convince my toddler that in fact we need to go potty. I don’t always win.
Fifteen minutes later: We are downstairs, near the door, putting on shoes and coats with agonizing slowness. I always let them press the garage door opener as a reward.
Five minutes later: Endless car seat shenanigans, running back into the house for my phone/wallet/whatever I forgot on the counter.
1 minute outside: Think about why we even bother leaving the house when I’m sweating and out of breath and we haven’t left yet.
Wheels up: “I hope I haven’t forgotten anything…”
And we went out. *Cue How Far I’ll Go from Moana, our current musical obsession*
Remember your rhythm.
Every child is different and only you will know when the right time is to get out of the house in one piece. I know that if I delay leaving after 10 a.m., we never leave, because by that time my toddler starts moving and/or I’ve already set up an activity and/or I realize I have a chore to do and suddenly it’s lunch time, so I might as well stay here. We’re up and out the door by 9:30 a.m. at the latest most mornings – often earlier if I can – so we can do a full outing, eat lunch, then come home at nap time (or sleep in the car.) I have a toddler who gets up at 6 a.m. every morning, so that’s our rhythm. If I try to force anything else, it won’t work.
And it gets easier. Part of the reason this is our schedule is that it’s *my* favorite schedule. (Well, maybe not waking up at 6 a.m.) I’m a morning person and an early breakfast person and so that’s what we do.
What I carry in my car so I can always get out quickly.
My only real secret to getting out of the house is that I’m always ready to go (my version of Hulk is always angry), so that when I inevitably forget something, I still have it. Lately, somewhere between going underground and getting into the car seat, we seem to lose a shoe?? Just one. A mystery for toddlers.
I’ve always been the type of person to carry a travel bag in my trunk: my senior year of high school, I always kept a sleeping bag, a swimsuit, my lifeguard uniform, and a gigantic stack of CDs. just in case—and that hasn’t changed since I became a mother. Here’s an example of what’s in my trunk for the summer:
Yes, I have an SUV. I keep all of these things in a large plastic container in the trunk.
Thanks for being here.
Watching penguins for a surprisingly long time.
Lately I’ve been feeling overwhelmed with the thought of booking another big trip, but that hasn’t stopped us from having lots of fun in our backyard. My husband had a work conference in town and some points to burn, so we booked ourselves a quick trip to Boston and did all our favorite things: screaming at the penguins in the Aquarium, a ride on the Greenway Carousel, some unreal sandos at my new Sunny Girl in the North End, and wiggling at Martin’s Playground. Although my toddler would tell you the best part was eating a snack while watching the construction of high-rise buildings in the seaport…nothing like a high-powered construction site for my toddler.
I often overthink trips, like they always have to be new and exciting, but this is our third time doing the same Seaport/North End route and it’s just easy and fun every time. But I almost didn’t go – we have lots of other little trips coming up and I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed by it all lately – but I’m still so glad I left the house.
Just do it,
Kayla
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This article was originally published on Traveling with Toddlers. Subscribe for more actionable travel tips, toddler-friendly itineraries and proven gear recommendations.