You want your vacations to be perfect, right? After all, you spent all that time, money, and energy into creating a magical event to encourage family bonding and memory-making. But in reality, vacations can turn out to be some of the most stressful experiences ever!

We decided to take our kids to the beach for one last fling before our next baby was born.

I'd tried to warn them that once she'd arrived, I would need to recover, and the first few weeks might be a little challenging. So, for that reason and for memory's sake, we rented a travel trailer and headed for San Diego.

The kids had their first boogie-board experience and loved it! The sand was perfect, the weather was beautiful, and we had a great time. On the way home, we swung up north into San Bernardino county to visit our old stomping grounds and reconnect with old friends. Arriving that Saturday afternoon, however, it became clear that our van had a problem. No longer would it shift gears!

Our intention was to come home on Sunday, but the mechanic told us that the broken cable was only available through the dealer, which wouldn't be open until Monday. So, we took a deep breath, and decided to make the most of the extra day.

Monday morning came and we got a phone call. We were told that the dealer didn't have the part, and it had to be over-nighted from Georgia. I began to wonder if I'd have this baby in California after all! So we got a few more groceries and hunkered down for yet another day.

How would you be feeling at this point?

Gratefully, Trevan didn't have to report to anyone at work for being absent an extra 2 days, but we did have to keep the kids' schools informed on absences. Regardless, the car repair and the 2 extra days of trailer rental had not been part of the plan. Our oldest son had a band concert that Tuesday night that he couldn't afford to miss. We borrowed a friend's car and drove him an hour down the mountain to catch the next plane home. Grandpa picked him up, and he got himself to the concert while we spent about seven hours driving home later that night.

Who wouldn't feel irritable with all of the unforeseen expenses? Most people would be. But if you have read Hidden Treasures then you know that by the law of Polarity, "bad" situations always contain within them the seed of something wonderful. This situation was no different.

Never before has our family had the luxury of more than 56 hours with nothing to do, and nowhere to go! The kids discovered reserves of creativity that they hadn't thought to tap into before. We pulled off the road to play in the Mojave River bed. Seven years of living within a mile of it, and we had never done that before. We fed the ducks and had s'mores with some local friends, as we camped at the lake nearby, again, where we had never camped before.

I was amazed at how patient the kids had been as they sat in the car for hours on end, driving around to visit grownups they scarcely remembered. I realized that so long as mom and dad are not stressed out and rushed, the kids are more relaxed as well. Who could've known?

My children played together, overlooking age differences and enjoying nature. What rich memories we created, and only because things had "gone wrong"!

Life is like that. Every detour we are required to take has some breathtaking scenery if we'll allow ourselves to just look around a bit... don't make the mistake of missing the view by focusing too intently on the problem.

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