Finest Family and the Lava Lamp

Some things practically demand a second attempt, especially when they didn’t quite work out the first time.

Apparently, the Kids Club staff thought so too.

During our previous visit, the children had made lava lamps. A round of applause for the 90s revival!

Something we used to have in our bedrooms as children, and which our own kids only know from stories, was about to be recreated.

ChatGPT was consulted, and the crafting began.

The result?

A colourful blob floating in oil.

Lovely in its own way, but not exactly a lava lamp.

Our children took it in good humour, and that was precisely the moment that stayed with us.

“Mum, Lava Lamps!”

A few months later, we’re checking into the hotel, and the children immediately inspect the Kids Club programme.

“Mum, lava lamps!”

And every one of us knows exactly what that means.

Nobody wants to miss this activity.

Will it work this time?

While the children head off to the Kids Club, I take my book outside and settle down on a sun lounger.

All I can hear are a few birds and the donkeys and horses standing in the surrounding fields.

Otherwise, silence.

I finally have time to continue reading my book.

Without feeling guilty. Without having to be constantly on standby.

I know my children are in very good hands.

I enjoy having some time to myself and being able to do exactly what I feel like doing.

In this case, something as simple as continuing my novel and following the fate of Lance General Roderic of Thurgau.

“I know my children are well looked after there and that the staff treat them with kindness and respect, speaking to them as equals.”

So what became of Lava Lamp 2.0?

It worked considerably better than last time.

Adela helped the children, and the lamps actually bubbled, at least for the first few minutes.

I know from my children’s stories that Adela is incredibly kind and helpful. Parents aren’t allowed inside the Kids Club, after all.

It’s a mysterious place I only know about through second-hand accounts.

And if anyone was wondering why one of the carers had orange hands that day, well, sometimes lids come off.

And suddenly the entire table, including the person supervising, is covered in paint.

Once there’s enough of it, washing it off isn’t quite so easy.

But those are exactly the moments that make the Kids Club so special to me.

Things don’t always go smoothly, but that isn’t a disaster. Somehow, it’s simply part of the experience.

For me, the Kids Club isn’t a bonus or a nice little extra.

It’s one of the reasons why Finest Family works so well for us as a family.

Without it, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my time there in quite the same way.

And besides, a certain Lance General was still waiting for me.