Oh the fun we all have around the holidays. I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to have all these major holidays crammed into such a short space of time. We start off with at the end of October Halloween (we call it Samhain). Less than a month later there's Thanksgiving, about a month later Yule and a week after that New Years. Come one people is it really necessary to cram all these into such a short space and time? This is why I prefer Pagan holidays. Everything is evenly spaced out- 8 holidays over the year (and it would have been pretty evenly if you go by moon/sun cycles and not these random 30, 31 and 28 day months- but that's another rant). Of course 2 of these holidays are the days we are expected to be with our family the most. If you happen to have moved away from where your parents are, the expectation to return is even greater. Add children to the mix and well.... yeah. You can pull the "we want to start our own traditions" card, but they will most likely counter with the "but we want to see you for the traditions we had when you were growing up" card. Or "but it's about being together as a family" card (I would like to point out that this is what it's become, but not necessarily the original reason for the holidays).
So, all that ranting aside. Here we are, the Sunday before our departure for the first of 2 major trips. We leave this week for a trip to my family in Minnesota. We'll be gone for over a week. Getting ready entails: all laundry being done, the house at least sort of picked up, a cat sitter arranged, packing, children prepared, and lots of logistics to be worked out. I'm sure I'm forgetting things. Oh yes: the fridge cleaned out and mail stopped (whew! I did that one already). Since weekdays leave me precious little time to get things done, we cram as much as we can into a brief 2 day weekend. I have lists all over the place of things to get done and what to pack. I have decided to let certain things go for the sake of everyone's sanity (if we forget something I will not freak, I will not freak, I will not freak, I will not freak. If I say it long enough I might actually believe it!).
We have to be sure that Kara is appropriately prepared for what's going to happen. We'll drive to the airport, this is what security will be like, then we wait, then we get on the plane, then we wait.... then we take off, then we wait while we're flying (by the way, we can't get up and move around and we can't get off the plane). Then we land and wait until we're allowed to get off the plane, then we walk to wait for our luggage. Note how much we have to wait? If you have a 3 year old, you know that "wait" is not in their vocabulary. So, we prepare ourselves with lots of fun snacks, toys, even videos. And prayers. Lots and lots of prayers.
We also are working out how to get 2 adults, 1 three yr old, 1 four month old, 2 car seats, 2 adult backpacks, 1 child's backpack, and 1 carry on onto the plane. I'm not even going to think of the logistics of before we check our 2 large suitcases. No wonder people used to live closer to their parents.
Don't get me wrong. I am looking forward to seeing my family. But man oh man, the things we do to travel with kids. So, you will have to excuse this rather uninspired post- I'm now off to fold the first of 4 loads of laundry.
No comments:
Post a Comment