Monday, March 29, 2010

Are We There Yet?

I'm hoping that by the time you read this, I'll be on a sandy beach in Hawaii, soaking up the sun and reading Lucy Monroe's newest paranormal. But thanks to the wonders of scheduled posting, I'm writing this the night before we leave, and life is very different at the moment. Here's how I'll get from here to there:

1. Drop kids at school.
2. Take paperwork to office, where I'm waylaid by three separate people who've been to Hawaii and have suggestions for places to visit and restaurants to explore. I take notes on scraps of paper in my purse that immediately disappear, only to resurface three weeks after I get back.
3. Go to superstore, where I overbuy on everything from first aid supplies to snacks for the plane.
4. Bank.
5. Other office. More travel advice.
6. Another store.
7. Another bank.
8. Home for a minute, where I stuff first aid supplies and sunscreen in large ziploc bags.
9. Haircut.
10. Pick up kids from school.
11. Kids' haircuts.
12. Home. More packing.
13. Dinner.
14. Stare at packing list blindly.
15. Pack some more.
16. Unpack some stuff.
17. Pack more stuff, wondering just how much we really need to bring.
18. Head to airport hotel, with stop at bookstore on the way so everyone has reading material for the plane.
19. Collapse in hotel room after making arrangements for shuttle and wakeup call in the morning.
20. Finally get on flight, trusting that I remembered everything or, failing that, at least my husband and kids.

*collapses* I think at this point, I'll have earned my vacation!

So am I the only one who runs around like a chicken with her head cut off right before vacation? Or does anyone have planning advice to make the process run more smoothly next time around?

4 comments:

kelly said...

This is so funny! It brings back memories of weekend trips to the lake when the kids were small. I'd spend a whole day packing. Every time I turned my back on them, they'd UNPACK things and start playing with them. My husband would come home and start hauling things out to the van BEFORE I'd finished packing. My son didn't travel well so I spent three hours in the back seat with him trying to keep him from screaming his head off. Then we'd arrive, unpack and I'd be so exhausted just from getting there it wasn't even fun!

Hope you are having a wonderful spring break Kate, I wish I was there!

PG Forte said...

Having just come back from a trip, I can so relate to this! Especially the packing--unpacking part. And I still brought too much stuff with me.

The only real difference is--this time--I had all my reading material on my nook. OMG, do I love that thing!

And, Kelly, what is that with husbands trying to pack the car before the bags are ready? Mine does exactly the same thing. It does not save time. It really doesn't.

Have fun, Kate!

Meg Benjamin said...

Oh but I've got my own travel delight: I come from a long line of "up at the crack of dawn and hit the road" types. The DH, on the other hand, believes in getting up around nine for a leisurely breakfast and then maybe getting on the road by eleven or so. By then I'm gibbering. At least I've gotten him to let me make reservations at motels so we won't pull in at six and find no place with vacancies!

Kate Davies said...

Ahahahaha! Even with all that, I still managed to: forget my extra swimsuit (everyone else has one), put the toothpaste in the wrong bag so homeland security pulled us out of line and searched us (eventually tossing the toothpaste, too), pack the wrong prescription, and leave my oldest's glasses at home. (Luckily, said kid wears contacts 99% the time. But still!) But we're here, we made it on time, and I had a mai tai tonight while watching the sun set from the restaurant right across from the beach. So everything's good. :)