My family is very close.
Six years ago, we moved from South Carolina to Virginia, and my 74-year-old mother-in-law followed us, settling into a converted barn on our property.
Our 11-year-old son has grown up with the rare gift of seeing his Oma almost every day, having her pop over after school, sharing dinners together, and making memories that might otherwise be reserved for holidays.
Not only do we spend so much of the day-to-day together, but we also love to travel as a family, typically settling into either a spacious Airbnb or hotel, where my son bunks up with his grandmother in a separate room.
However, last year when we road-tripped to Wyoming and visited Yellowstone National Park, we decided to share a single hotel room at each of our stops.
On paper, it felt like a practical call — peak-season rates were high, and availability was tight. Plus, we figured we’d spend most of our time outdoors anyway.
Three generations in one space for 10 days. How hard could it be?
In reality, all four of us in small hotel rooms with two queen beds became an unexpectedly intimate exercise in negotiating space, privacy, and patience across three generations. And I’ll admit, it wasn’t always pleasant.
We had our moments, but despite the challenges, we’ve grown closer than ever because of it.
We were cramped, but still bonded amid the challenges
Kinsey Gidick
We all love each other dearly, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t have our bouts while spending so many nights in a shared room.
In the mornings, we rotated through the single bathroom and choreographed our every move so we didn’t collide. It was crowded, and at times uncomfortable.
Also, the sleeping situation provided some challenges.
There is simply no normal way to go to bed when your mother-in-law is sleeping five feet away. My husband is a devoted big-spoon enthusiast, but on this trip, even the accidental elbow contact felt like it deserved a permission slip.
So, we spent each night lying rigidly on our respective sides of the mattress like Victorian siblings in a period drama. It was profoundly unromantic — and, frankly, the only acceptable choice.
I’ll admit I also got a little twitchy about my mother-in-law’s daily blow-drying routine, considering we were spending every moment outdoors.
However, her infectious energy immediately brought the entire room to life each morning.
She awoke every day thrilled to be there, ready to explore — a reminder that bickering about a toothpaste stain on a T-shirt or crummy hotel coffee were insignificant details compared to the glorious opportunity we had before us.
Plus, once we escaped the room and were outside in the vastness of Yellowstone — witnessing the thermal basins, roaming bison, and geologic wonders — our minor frictions shrank, and we were reminded of what it meant to be together in this particular configuration as a family.
It wasn’t perfect, but the memories outweighed the discomfort
Kinsey Gidick
Spending 10 days together in confined spaces across Wyoming may not have always been perfect, but there were certainly many memories that made the experience worthwhile.
Before bedtime, my son whispered questions about wolves and geysers from the bed he shared with his Oma, while she murmured stories about her own childhood road trips.
Each night, my husband would gently shake us awake to step outside and look up at a sky stitched with stars.
There’s something profoundly moving about standing in the dark with three generations of your family, all craning your necks toward the same impossible expanse. It didn’t cost us a thing, except a willingness to lose a little sleep.
Another evening in Yellowstone, my husband suggested we skip the lodge restaurants, stock up at the commissary, and have a picnic dinner in our cabin. I nearly objected, thinking every meal was supposed to be part of the experience.
Instead, we spread crackers, cheese, and whatever else we’d grabbed across the tiny table beside our unmade beds. It was gloriously ordinary.
Because we weren’t rushing off to my next scheduled “must-do,” my son wandered outside and met the boy staying next door. For hours, they built forts and invented worlds, then finally reemerged covered in dirt, grinning ear to ear.
It was the exact travel experience he needed, and one I would’ve planned right out of existence had I been busy checking boxes off my itinerary.
Turns out, three generations to a room wasn’t a compromise — it was an upgrade.
