Counting down to Blast Off…

Sometimes, the best thing to do is just look in the mirror and say…

“What shoes go with this STRESS?”

 Well, here goes. We’re leaving tomorrow. Me with 3 kids, on a road trip for 17 days. Insane? Probably. I’m just hoping that everything goes well. By “well” I mean that I hope we’re safe, everyone enjoys the trip as much as possible AND that the bickering and fighting is kept to a minimum. Now, that might be too much to hope for even here at the house, so I could be setting my sights too high, LOL. Honestly, I hope to avoid car problems/accidents <shudder> (let me knock on wood now)…

(I’m back. I had to knock on 2 things ’cause I could swear this desk top is probably just a very fancy pressboard…nicely disguised though.)

I also hope to avoid illness with any of us. I’m probably going to be fine, but who knows what crud the kids might pick up? I’m keeping the backseat of Ye Ole Minivan free from stuff so someone could lay down back there if necessary(properly strung up with seat belts, of course). Also, taking the trusty, extremely well sealing giant Tupperware bowl. ..just in case. Um, it’s not going to be holding pasta salad if you get my drift. Yeah, that’s why I make sure it seals well. <shudder again>

I hope our trip is weirdo free or at least as weirdo free as possible. I’d hate to have to go all Kathy Bates in Misery on someone who tries to mess with me and my crew.

I really hope I can sleep. Today I was up at 7:30 am, when my plan was to sleep in and get some rest… and that’s at home. I normally don’t sleep well when I stay in hotels, so I have some real concerns about that. I’m the only one who can drive and we’re going to be waaaaaaaay away from home. It’s not like I can afford to be tired and hand one of my babies the keys. Ok, they’re all over age 7, but under age 14 and they’re still called my babies. It’s a conscious decision on my part. I just like it. It’s sort of funny to me, plus it reminds me not to wring their necks when they’ve done something incredibly rude or dumb, because I remember they’re my babies…not just some belligerent kid who I’m now writing out of my will.

I really, really hope that I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew. Clearly, it’s a lot. We’ll be gone 17 days…on the road…in a minivan. If someone told me they were doing that with their 3 kids, I would say they were crazy, better you than me, call me from the nut hut (funny farm/insane asylum), etc., but then I would secretly wish I was that brave and adventurous person. I’d wish I could be a Mom like that.

Now we get to see if I live up to my own expectations. I expect the children to be children. They’re going to complain, get sick, argue and bug me…some of the time. That’s called having kids. The hard part is me keeping everything in perspective with so many miles laid out before me and so many behind me (plus my own determination) that I can’t/won’t turn back, or totally freak out, due to small irritations (which could seem big due to my problem sleeping away from home). I want to remain the ME that I am, not crazy, exhausted road trip psycho Mom. Hopefully, she’s just a worry and not a fact.

My wish:

I told the kids that this trip would change who they are. It would change the way they look at the world, because travel does that. I know it’s done that for me, so far in my life…and I haven’t even been out of the country yet. I heart the road trip. I heart America. I’m excited to share both things with my kids. I hope they come away from the trip, different food, people, places, experiences and reliance on each other, better for it. I hope they appreciate our country’s history, diversity and beauty even more after seeing more of it. I hope they grow into people who are adventurous and excited about the world around them. Maybe one day, I’ll be reading about the road trip they took with their kids. Now there’s an adventure…