On the road again

I'm trying to play catch up again....I was gone for a few days celebrating my sister's birthday in Arizona and the kids had snow days and I haven't been feeling well.....so I'm playing catch up with life AGAIN! And we are leaving late Wednesday night to drive to Alabama to visit my parents who are "snow birding" for the first time this year. On the road again.....and this my friends will be the second longest road trip for my little family and I'm a little stressed because the first one was not so fun!

I'm going to take you back to the summer of 2005.....life was very stressful back then with two little ones (2 and 4 years old to be exact), I was running a home daycare business, Randy was terribly busy at his job as a sheet metal worker, and on the side he competed in archery - 3-D Bow Shooting. He qualified for nationals in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and decided that the entire family should go out on this trip - we would drive and it would be fun!

Our road trip was a 19 hour nightmare due to construction, we left bright and early in the morning - even though I suggested leaving at night so the kiddos would sleep, it rained almost the entire time we were out there - so I was stuck in the hotel room with toddlers, I was in a strange city and would take the children on walks when I could - but was scared I would end up in a bad neighborhood, we barely saw Randy because it's not like you can go into a building and watch their shoots - they are actually walking through the woods, and I believe our marriage was a little shaky upon returning from that trip. We survived and the children have no recollection of their mother having melt downs, trying desperately to entertain them over the long weekend, and I actually think they don't remember the trip at all. My husband remembers competing, because that's what he did majority of the time and has very little memory of the "other" stuff. I however, remember it all.......like it was yesterday! ha!

Now, I believe that we are given challenges and that we take from them things that we're supposed to learn. I was supposed to learn patience and compassion and it taught me that as a mother I was capable of driving my children around in a strange city and finding ways to entertain them and making it seem like an adventure! The highlight was going to Hershey, Pennsylvania and I believe the chocolate is in fact what saved me. ha! Again, we all survived and there are little to no scars in the memories of my husband and children in regards to that trip - and I grew up a little bit as a mother, a wife, and a woman.

So, in looking ahead at our up and coming road trip - we are going to drive mostly through the night, the boys both have handheld games, we have a DVD player, a GPS, and the boys who are now almost 5 years older will be able to handle the stresses that come with travelling a little better than they did when they were so young. I am looking forward to my children seeing the ocean, spending time with my parents, sweet tea, fresh seafood, and having a chance to learn from the challenges that might be hidden in our little road trip.