Are We There Yet?

                I was scrambling to finish packing on Saturday morning while my husband was having new tires put on our minivan. Our mission was to use the kids’ week-long winter break to visit our family in Florida. It is an 11 hour drive with three children who don’t do so well in close quarters with each other. Is there an upside to this equation?

                We hadn't even made it ten minutes down the road when we heard the first, “Are we there yet?” I thought Miley was joking, but by the time we hit Atlanta, she had asked 11 more times. She was 4 years old when we left Georgia, and was extremely excited that she would be turning 5 in Florida. My husband (Kerry) told her we would be stopping at a hotel when the sun went down, and that would mean we were halfway there. I was pretty darn impressed that he had quenched her questioning, until five minutes later we heard, “How many more minutes until the sun goes down? This trip is taking like 100 days! I think I see the sun moving down. Do you see it? My eyes are really special. They can see far away. They are magical eyes. How many minutes, mom? Are we there yet?”

                We stopped in Valdosta as the sun was setting. The hotel we had reserved contained an indoor heated pool, and the kids were wild with anticipation over going for a swim. My husband and I “parented up” and jumped in with them. We wanted the kids to have as much fun and make as many memories as possible on a trip that we weren’t able to take often enough.  The next morning we woke refreshed and enjoyed our teenaged son Cameron’s favorite part of staying in a hotel, “the glorious hot breakfast where you get to make your own Belgian waffles.” They were delicious, if I do say so myself. 

                Soon afterward, we loaded up and began the second leg of the trip. And it wasn’t long before the squabbling began. “Mom, she isn’t sharing the crayons,” Madelyn whined. “Well, she won’t stop staring at my snack!” Miley countered, followed by “And she doesn’t believe that I have magical eyes!” And of course there were the many, many cries of: “Mom, I have to go to the bathroom!” Kerry said they each had a bladder “the size of an acorn, or maybe the size of an octogenarian,” and I laughed heartily in agreement. 

Is it a bunny? An angel? We passed a lot of time playing the cloud game.

                 We made pit stops at gas stations at least every hour and a half, and each time, the girls became better at bargaining. They would run up to us with a “king-sized” candy bar, and when we shook our heads “no,” they would take it back and return with the “regular-sized” option. When we told them “no” again, they would return with a lowly lollipop. I realized this technique was very effective when I was cleaning out their seating area and retrieved a handful of sucker sticks.

                When we finally rolled onto my father-in-law’s street, cheers erupted from the kids, and Kerry and I gave a sigh of relief.  After hours and hours of traveling, we had made it at last. Already we had some unforgettable memories, and the week had only just begun. With Miley’s birthday coming up, and relatives to visit, I knew we had only just scratched the surface of the adventures in store.

                Lord knows I was focused on the blessings of it all, and enjoying all of the funny moments in-between. I hope this post inspires you to treasure even the little details life brings your way. Beauty is out there, sometimes you just have to hunt it down. Happy trails!