Saturday, February 9, 2019

In Defense of Brocation: Why I "Let" My Husband Go to Disneyland With His Friends

This year my husband will go to Disneyland with his friends for the fourth year in a row. This event, deemed "Brocation," has become a fun tradition for our whole family - even those of us who aren't tagging a long.

Unfortunately, Brocation is sometimes met with criticism. It's a silly thing for the general public to care about, in my opinion. But we occasionally hear remarks from people that it's inappropriate, frivolous, or just downright stupid. Opinions have been expressed that the men shouldn't be taking time away from their families to go to Disneyland. I can't help but wonder if the same comments would be made if they were going on a mountain biking, backpacking, or golfing trip. There's something about it being a trip to Disneyland that makes people upset. One person, upon learning about Brocation, responded with, "What a bunch of @$$holes!"

The tradition began when, a few years back, we were talking with some other families about possibly doing a couples trip to Disneyland or taking our families all together. The expenses and calendaring quickly brought us back to reality, so we decided that the men should go. 

The number of men going on the trip has fluctuated from year to year. It started with 4, and it has had as many as 12. Some of the men are from our church congregation, but most aren't at this point, as it has extended to brothers, friends, and in one case, even someone's boss! 

The Bros leave on a Wednesday, go to Disneyland Thursday and Friday, and are home on Saturday. They don't miss church, and they make the trip as short and sweet as possible. It's also pretty affordable. In past years they have driven, but this year they found an excellent deal on flights, which means they will spend even less time away from home. They usually take their own food and split the cost of hotel rooms or rentals.



Each of the married bros has the support of his wife. This is the most important part! We've all discussed how our husbands deserve a break once in a while (just like we do), and we have no qualms with them going on a Disneyland trip because most (if not all) of them rarely do something independent of their family, work, and church responsibilities. 

While they are gone, we have a blast sharing pictures and stories through facebook, and we even have some inside jokes involving photos of feet.

During the trip, the Bros share lots of laughs and face the woes of their aging. They come back exhausted, unsure if they can do it again, and then they start planning the next year's trip.

For us, it's been a very positive and uplifting tradition to take part in, so the Bros have my full support, despite the questioning and commentary of others.



3 comments:

Jo said...

People should be nice.

JJ said...

I wonder if people think it’s “inappropriate” because it’s a place that’s kind of know as a family place so they think they should o my go with families??? Or maybe they think it’s a place for children so it’s weird to go without children???But really when you think about it men do all kind of stuff together like going out to strip clubs or gambling or drinking and I would very much prefer my husband going to Disneyland with his friends than going to Vegas or something.

JJ said...

Sorry for all the typos. I didn’t notice them until after I commented. While I’m already commenting I had another thought. Some of these people are in the same ward right??? Is that part of the problem? I don’t mean anything critical by this but has it created a click in the ward or is it causing leadership concerns because they are all missing meetings or something? I honestly Things it’s great and sounds a lot of fun. I’m just trying to look at it objectively so I can understand why people would be critical. I agree with you it’s a silly thing for people to care about. Hopefully this is your chance to let people know more about it so they will have less to criticize.