Random Thoughts from our Trip

I know that it has been some time since my last entree.  I intentionally put the laptop under the pile of dirty clothes that we brought home from our trip to Florida last week so that I could prioritize what needed to get done in our house.  Then, on Thursday, when I was actually caught up with my chores from the week, I opened my email to discover that the rest of you may not have necessarily taken  a break from sending me messages.  I had to read and respond to over a 100 emails!  So, now that life is back to its normal level of craziness, I have made the time to return to my beloved blog page.

Here are some random thoughts about our recent trip:

Webster defines a vacation as “break from work: a period of time devoted to rest, travel, or recreation.” So, by definitions I did not take a vacation last week. I am pretty sure that if children go on any vacation with the family it really is not a vacation for the mother. It definitely was not a “break form work“. And of the three things the time was to be devoted to (rest, travel and recreation) I managed to travel. No, ladies and gentlemen, I did not take a vacation last week. I may not have been home but trust me it was not a vacation.

As we drove to Florida, I came to the conclusion that I could never be an over-the-road trucker. I would be even more over weight than I am now. I noticed that while I am driving I have to be eating. Usually something crunchy like peanuts, Combos, crackers, baby carrots, celery sticks, you name it. But always eating.

At any random overnight place, the same activities happened. Elizabeth was not at all interested in swimming. She would rather just take a “baa”. So while she soaks in the tub, Matt takes the older two to the pool. I lay out clothes for the next day, pick up the dirty clothes from that day and organize anything else that might need to get done. (but remember, I am on vacation!)  And, by now, Zech has tasted a section of the local yellow pages from numerous towns.

That leads me to my next conclusion… I am convinced that the only reason we take vacations is so that our children can swim. I am starting to wonder if we should just look into purchasing an indoor, heated pool. It might very well be cheaper than all the hotel rooms.

And speaking of hotel rooms… Did you know that most rooms that we stayed in cost an average of $100 a night. So after nine nights on vacation we spent more to house our family for one week than we do for an entire month’s mortgage!!! What I don’t understand is why hotel chains don’t offer a weekly rate. Some hotels actually do offer a weekly rate but you have to stay in the same hotel building to get that rate. Maybe next year we will just have to rent an RV. Surely that is cheaper than all the hotel rooms. But then we will have the problem of trying to find pools for the kids to swim in. Urg!

But no matter how frustrating taking a “vacation” is. No matter how much work is involved while there and once you return. There are always the funny stories you home with. I’ll end with one: As we drove down the monotonous road, we play the game in which you hunt for all the states’ license plates. When you spot one you yell out the state’s name. Illinois, Ohio, Florida, etc. Somewhere near Macon, I saw a read car with plates we had not recorded yet. I said, “Mississippi’. Then, as we passed that red car, Rebekah noticed that a man, not a woman, was driving it. She very matter of factly said, “No, that isn’t Mississippi because that is a boy driver. That one is Mr. Ippi.”

Now, I am off to try and catch up from last week and see what new adventure the children will bring me so I can share them with you on this blog.   And maybe I will send myself on a real vacation sometime soon..no kids, no laundry, no hotel fees, just a vacation.  We'll see.