“I’ll plan everything,” my thirteen-year-old daughter, Nora, promised when she heard about Thatch Caye Resort in Belize. A nature lover who still spends her time reading National Geographic and painstakingly texting on her flip phone—pressing each number key multiple times to cycle through letters the way we did in the ‘80s—Nora had been captivating us with stories about this 15-acre private island that hosts only 30 guests at a time.
When I asked why she was so determined to go, her answer stopped me cold. “When we’re home, everyone is always on their phones.”
She was right. While Nora tried to show us the moon in the sky or a lizard in our yard, my husband, our two sons, and I were usually distracted by our screens. Her simple observation became the catalyst for what would prove to be a transformative family vacation. In a moment of parental surrender—or perhaps wisdom—I told her to go ahead and tell me her dreams for our family trip. We planned the getaway during the week of my husband and my twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
Welcome to the Digital Detox Zone
Getting our whole family to Belize City felt like a small miracle. My 21-year-old son flew in from his summer internship in New York; Nora and I arrived after visiting my parents in Savannah, Georgia; and my 18-year-old son and husband used airline miles to get to Belize from our home in Austin, TX. We had one single week to be together as a family. I could only hope that Nora’s plans would make it memorable.
From the moment we arrived at Thatch Caye Island and saw a wooden sign wrapped around a palm tree declaring “NOW ENTERING DIGITAL DETOX ZONE,” we knew this week would be a challenge. But Nora had done her research and knew exactly what we were getting into—or rather, what we’d be giving up.
Soon after we arrived, Nora had located the resort’s complimentary bikes and announced an impromptu tour. “It only takes five minutes to bike around the whole island!” she declared, already pedaling away. My sons grabbed their own bikes, and off they went to explore every corner of this sustainable island paradise that felt deserted in all the right ways, surrounded by turquoise water and boasting white-sand beaches.
The Perfect Activities Director
What made our stay memorable wasn’t just the lack of WiFi in our rooms. It was watching Nora orchestrate our days with the enthusiasm of someone who finally had the attention of her big brothers and wanted to bask in every moment of it. She made sure we all gathered at Starfish Bar for happy hour promptly at 4:00 PM, where we’d sip tropical drinks from distinctive blue ceramic cups under a thatch-roof cabana. She brought out playing cards for afternoon rounds of hearts or poker, spreading them out on the beach loungers while hermit crabs scuttled past.
My sons discovered the island’s incredible fishing spots with help from the staff, while Nora found her element on the water, learning to stand up paddle and taking her brothers along. I’ll never forget watching her glide across that impossibly clear ocean on her blue paddleboard, or seeing her later lounging in the overwater hammock—a rope net suspended above the sea—her legs dangling in the warm Caribbean water, pure joy in her laugh as her brothers splashed her from below.
Evening happy hours found our whole family gathered around a table with drinks in hand as the sun painted dramatic clouds in shades of orange and pink. These weren’t just cocktails (and mocktails)—they were conversations we’d forgotten how to have, stories we’d never heard because we’d always been too distracted to listen.
The Perfect Finale
On the night of our anniversary, the staff orchestrated a vow renewal ceremony for my husband and me, complete with towering arrangements of tropical flowers in vibrant reds, pinks, and whites framed by massive monstera leaves. There we stood on the beach at sunset, all five of us dressed in flowing whites and blues, flower crowns adorning my head and Nora’s.
What began as a formal ceremony quickly dissolved into mayhem—the boys lifting Nora up to pose for a photographer the resort provided, even one of the resort dogs joining our celebration snaps on the overwater dock. Our family portrait session was spontaneous and fun, and when I received an e-mail with the photos, I almost burst into tears. How lucky we were to have this special time together.
Into the Jungle: Nora’s Toucan Dream
Nora has always wanted to see a toucan, so for the final leg of our trip, we headed to Sweet Songs Jungle Lodge near San Ignacio. This eco-lodge, set along the banks of the Macal River and spanning 20 acres of lush tropical vegetation, offered a completely different kind of magic than our island vacation.
The treehouse accommodations felt like something out of a fairy tale, connected by wooden walkways that took us up into the canopy among birds not normally encountered at ground level. Each morning, the lodge set out tempting plates of fruit, and throughout the day, birds would come to feed just feet from where we sat at the Treehouse Bar.
But the moment that made Nora’s entire trip was during our guided hike through the broadleaf forest. There, perched majestically in the canopy, was a glorious toucan—exactly what she’d been dreaming of seeing. And none of us had brought our phones, so we were all looking up as she was.
The Wisdom of Letting Go
As we prepared to leave Belize, I realized that letting my thirteen-year-old plan our vacation was perhaps the best parenting decision I’d made in years. Sometimes the wisdom we need comes from the people we least expect, and sometimes it takes a nature-loving kid with a flip phone to remind us that the best technology is the one we turn off, and the most important connections are the ones happening right in front of us.
