No, today is not the day of rest. Today is the day for kicking things into high gear. Today begins the countdown for The Great Trip. Today I'm adding all kinds of interesting things to my "to do" list in anticipation of this trip that we're taking. I hope.
One of the things that I LOVE to tease my husband about is his allergies to my home state. It seldom fails. We head to the promised land of my past, and his van breaks down, one of us gets sick, something happens here that makes us wonder whether or not we should have stayed home, and so on. But I think this trip is going to win the award for the most obstacles thrown in its path.
Obstacle number one: vehicular. I think most of you know we placed an order for a new van several months ago. It was to be ready the end of October, at the absolute latest. We are now a few weeks past that date, and no potential arrival time in sight. We do know that the "fix" is in the works by the manufacturer, that the windshield wipers and two other things are not working properly until this fix happens, but have no word as to when the "fix" is anticipated. So we are now contemplating options. Do we travel in a well-worn van that has about 200,000 miles on it and likes to flash notices such as "SERVICE ENGINE" in glaring red letters that the mechanics can't figure out WHY the light is on (but the van is liable to stop and refuse to start)? Do I unplug the chair and throw my husband in the front of my car and drive, hence punishing myself to pushing a manual chair up my parents' steep driveway (to get upstairs where the kitchen and everyone else is), and later face the wrath of my better half? Or do we pray the van is ready on Friday and Bobby miraculously adjusts to all the new gears and such within two days and instantly feels at ease (which has NEVER happened) so that we hit the interstate at our regular ungodly travel time on Monday?
Obstacle number 2: health concerns. Long distance travel is never body friendly. It does strange things to muscles and organs. It prompts infections of various sorts, or at least seems too. So this year, instead of having just ONE health ailment to consider, we are facing TWO. Huh? Yeah, I know. A bit of overkill. But either way, that's what it is. So I'm calling one doctor this morning and will visit another in hopes of answers and potential solutions. I mean, there is the possibility that all this can be cured BEFORE travel time, right? Hey, a girl can dream!
Obstacle number 3: scheduling. This time of year is always notorious for scheduling conflicts. It almost rivals summertime. We normally go to bed (or at least the driver does) very early the night before leaving. Otherwise leaving at aforementioned ungodly hour has the potential to be disastrous. Somehow we've allowed our schedule to be a little tight the evening prior to departure. And I'm having serious debates with myself about "just saying no" and putting my foot down. In the meantime, my goal is to do as much as I can beforehand (though not knowing which vehicle we're taking throws a kink in knowing how to pack).
None of these obstacles are overly daunting or difficult. But I long for the day when I can simply pull out my checklist, throw things in the suitcase, and we ride off into the ribbonned road and sunny skies. Maybe that will happen next spring when we vacation there. :)
One of the things that I LOVE to tease my husband about is his allergies to my home state. It seldom fails. We head to the promised land of my past, and his van breaks down, one of us gets sick, something happens here that makes us wonder whether or not we should have stayed home, and so on. But I think this trip is going to win the award for the most obstacles thrown in its path.
Obstacle number one: vehicular. I think most of you know we placed an order for a new van several months ago. It was to be ready the end of October, at the absolute latest. We are now a few weeks past that date, and no potential arrival time in sight. We do know that the "fix" is in the works by the manufacturer, that the windshield wipers and two other things are not working properly until this fix happens, but have no word as to when the "fix" is anticipated. So we are now contemplating options. Do we travel in a well-worn van that has about 200,000 miles on it and likes to flash notices such as "SERVICE ENGINE" in glaring red letters that the mechanics can't figure out WHY the light is on (but the van is liable to stop and refuse to start)? Do I unplug the chair and throw my husband in the front of my car and drive, hence punishing myself to pushing a manual chair up my parents' steep driveway (to get upstairs where the kitchen and everyone else is), and later face the wrath of my better half? Or do we pray the van is ready on Friday and Bobby miraculously adjusts to all the new gears and such within two days and instantly feels at ease (which has NEVER happened) so that we hit the interstate at our regular ungodly travel time on Monday?
Obstacle number 2: health concerns. Long distance travel is never body friendly. It does strange things to muscles and organs. It prompts infections of various sorts, or at least seems too. So this year, instead of having just ONE health ailment to consider, we are facing TWO. Huh? Yeah, I know. A bit of overkill. But either way, that's what it is. So I'm calling one doctor this morning and will visit another in hopes of answers and potential solutions. I mean, there is the possibility that all this can be cured BEFORE travel time, right? Hey, a girl can dream!
Obstacle number 3: scheduling. This time of year is always notorious for scheduling conflicts. It almost rivals summertime. We normally go to bed (or at least the driver does) very early the night before leaving. Otherwise leaving at aforementioned ungodly hour has the potential to be disastrous. Somehow we've allowed our schedule to be a little tight the evening prior to departure. And I'm having serious debates with myself about "just saying no" and putting my foot down. In the meantime, my goal is to do as much as I can beforehand (though not knowing which vehicle we're taking throws a kink in knowing how to pack).
None of these obstacles are overly daunting or difficult. But I long for the day when I can simply pull out my checklist, throw things in the suitcase, and we ride off into the ribbonned road and sunny skies. Maybe that will happen next spring when we vacation there. :)
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