Other than the 6-foot snowbank that is still at the foot of my driveway, the most difficult part of living in Maine is being so far from my family. When I lived in Massachusetts, I was only 2 hours away and it was reasonable to make a day-trip to partake in family festivities, and we did so regularly. Now, we are 5 hours away on an uneventful trip.
We try and make the expedition every other month. My kids are older now, at 8, 6, and 3 and, in some ways, traveling has gotten easier. They understand what the trip entails and can occupy themselves and each other for longer periods of time. On the other hand, it’s imperative that they not sleep, lest we want a nightmare of a night, and keeping their eyes open can be very difficult. Also, without diapers, our frequent rest stops are dictated by very small bladders.
While I look forward to being in Connecticut, in the days leading up to the trip I morph into a tiny ball of stress. Tomorrow we will depart for the weekend. The preparations are made more complicated by the fact that I haven’t fully recovered from being sick. I am feeling much better, but our normal clutter took advantage of the time when I was out of commission to reproduce. Like rabbits.
And on the flip side, when we get home on Sunday night, the detritus from the trip will linger. Our car will be full of snack residue, books and toys, and other bits of life that didn’t make it back to their homes.
It is these days that underline how complicated our extended family lives are. My own parents raised their family within 10 miles of their in-laws. By the time I was born, my family lived one house away from my Nana and Uncle. If we spent the night we didn’t even need to pack a toothbrush. We often shared meals and my parents never needed to hire a babysitter. We went on vacations together and they were our village.
Now, as I pack for another road trip, I fantasize about portals and Jetson-style space vehicles. Something to bring our village closer.
by Megin Hatch
[tags]parents, road trip, in-laws, grandparents, traveling, vacations[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by Chris Seufert, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
1 response so far ↓
InTheFastLane // Mar 20, 2008 at 8:25 am
I hate the unpacking and cleaning part of going anywhere by car. We have started a new routine of lining everyone up and handing them things, immediately upon our return home, until the car is clean. At least then the mess is all contained in the house.
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