My Family MVP Time Was 30 Minutes Alone at the Beach

I'm writing this from Menorca, looking out over the Mediterranean, and today my MVP was 30 minutes alone at the beach with a book.

Not with my kids. Not building sandcastles. Alone. My husband took the afternoon shift, I took the book, and I disappeared down the shore for half an hour of nobody needing anything from me.

It was everything.

Here's what I've learned the hard way: a vacation is not a rest, it’s a trip. Especially with little kids, a vacation is just your regular parenting in a more beautiful and less familiar location. New beds, off schedules, big feelings, and no village to tag in.

Which means the MVP framework matters more on vacation, not less.

So my husband and I did the thing we always come back to. We named what each of us needs to feel human, and we traded off to protect it. His MVP is a morning workout. Mine, this week, is 30 minutes with a book and no one talking to me. I wrote about how we figured this out here.

Small. Non-negotiable. The difference between a present parent and a crispy one.

No shame. I'm currently reading Carl's Doomsday Scenario, and I packed The Silent Patient and the next Throne of Glass (in my queue) for the rest of the trip.

There's a reason I pack these specific books for travel: short chapters. When your reading time comes in 30-minute windows stolen between beach shifts, you need a book built for exactly that. Something that grabs you fast & isn’t too heavy so you can put it down when a small human needs you and you can pick it right back up.

The best book isn't the impressive one. It's the one you actually like, and may finish, in four-minute increments.

That's the whole reframe that’s worked for my family. Rest isn't the reward you magically earn during the trip. You need to try for it. It's the thing that makes the trip survivable, for everyone in the family.

What's your MVP when you travel? The one small thing that keeps you human on the road? Hit reply. I read every one.

*P.S. If you've never done the family MVP exercise with your partner, it's the single best thing we've added to how we travel. Start here.