What I Think will Happen When I'm Getting Ready for a Trip
- Every single piece of laundry in the house cleaned, folded, pressed, and put away
- A completely cleaned house, top-to-bottom shining like the top of the Chrysler Building
- Organized books and magazines, re-alphabetize books and DVDs
- A freezer full of meals ready to defrost, heat, and serve
- Washed and cut fruits and veggies for healthy kid snacking
- All broken things around house magically fixed and every picture straightened
- Fluffy pillows
- Mail sorted and errands finished
- My visiting teaching for the month completed
- A week's worth of blog posts queued and ready to publish
- A calm and thoughtful packing with no more items than I absolutely need
- All packing fits in a tiny weekender bag, even if I am traveling for days and with a baby
- Lawn cut and edged, flower areas weeded and tidied yard
- Vacuum out the car and clean the baby's seat
- A folder with things to do with the kids while I'm gone organized by date and age
- Put new screens on the windows
- Buy the Economist and bring along New Yorkers for good airplane reading
- Fix a sandwich and healthy snacks to take with so we don't have to eat airport food
- A plate of freshly baked blueberry muffins on the kitchen table so that when the kids awake, they'll know their mother loves them
- Kiss and hug all the family staying goodbye
- Arise early and calmly wait for my ride to the airport with a happy baby at my side
What Probably Happens When I'm Getting Ready for a Trip
- I run around for three days like a frog in a frying pan
- Half my mail is organized, the other half gets thrown into a pile to deal with later
- I buy way too many things at the grocery store that my family doesn't really need
- I'm up half the night burning CDs for no good reason, really
- I buy some Jarlsberg cheese, Crispix, and 3 boxes of whatever sugar cereal is on sale, and a package of bacon
- We eat leftovers
- I leave no leftovers for while I'm gone
- I freeze go-gurts hoping that they're healthy?
- Pack 14 pairs of high heels and no sneakers
- Experience great sadness and regret that I haven't finished the quilt I started a year ago, consider maybe just sewing a couple squares?
- No one has a toothbrush anymore
- I pack three suitcases and a baby bag with "options" for wardrobe
- Forget about watering any plants, let alone whatever is happening with the lawn
- Owe a dozen people email responses or phone calls back
- I can't find my Kindle
- I panic about flying with a baby
- Decide to tailor a dress
- Can't find The Economist, pick up an US Weekly
- Debate about packing laptop, because honestly, who would steal a 5 year old Dell that weighs 1,000 pounds and can't hold a charge?
- Give up on sleep
- Leave with all the car keys in my purse
- Go to the grocery store 17 times
- Buy packaged meat for an increasingly less healthy take-along sandwich because deli is closed
- Hope the kids find frozen blueberries--almost like a muffin?
- Sleep through 4 of my alarms and try to get everything I left to the last minute downstairs to where my ride has been waiting for 20 minutes
- Grumpy baby
Lulu and I are off to New York.
Wish us luck.
(Please)
4 comments:
Why are all the cool cats heading to NYC right now? (I just landed back in SLC an hour ago. Curious what I'm missing back in my home away from home)
As my mom always says, "Vacations aren't relaxing when you're the mom."
Oh, that was one of the funnniest and real posts I've read in a long time! I will be following you! Your 26 "what probably happens"... did in my life!Planning a trip away with seven kids... insane!
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