Have you ever made a decision and then regretted it? Have you ever been super excited about a plan only to be momentously deflated by a sudden turn-of-events? Have you ever thought that the Universe is working against you or perhaps punishing you for a lifetime of bad choices?
Have you ever taken two small children on a five-state road trip? In a thirteen year-old Honda Accord?
I have. And for a moment there I truly thought it was going to be the very worst decision in my stint as a parent.
I’ll explain…
We had been planning this road trip for several months. Those in attendance would be my family of four, my brother and sister-in-law and two nieces, and our neighbors and family friends. There would be five adults and 8 kids traversing our way across the desert with our ultimate destination being the beautiful state of Colorado. Some friends had moved there a few years back and agreed to host our motley crew for a couple of days. Brave, brave people.
While planning our trip, we decided to take full advantage of our vacation time and take a side trip to Moab, Utah, home to some truly gah-geous red rock landscapes and one amazing (read: not mine and therefore automatically more restful) rental house. And, knowing we were looking at an approximate 18-hour drive it was determined we would need to leave at 2:00 a.m.
That’s 2:00 in the morning. You know? Like a couple of hours after midnight? A few hours before dawn? An insane time of the day to go anywhere?
Realizing we would have to get as much rest as possible we finalized our packing and hit the rack. At 9:30p.m. Jeremy promptly fell asleep and I promptly….laid there. Awake. Recounting all of the packed underpants and toothbrushes. Working the next day’s schedule through my frenzied mind. Telling myself I should fall asleep because I only had 4 hours left…3 hours left…2 hours left…1 hour left…oh, screw it! I tumbeld out of bed at 12:30a.m. and hit the shower with the express purpose of leaving at 2:00 a.m. with really good hair if not utterly sleep-deprived.
A short hour-and-a-half later we were loaded up in the car and cruising out of the neighborhood, our GPS (Wendi…Jer named her and specifically requested her name be spelled with an “i”) already anticipating our arrival time in Utah. Admittedly, it was a little daunting to be leaving my home before the paper boys are even out and about and some tart of a machine reminding me that we would not arrive to our desired destination until that night?
However, that said, there is nothing more energizing than the excitement over a vacation so we hit the road with gusto knowing that the kids would fall back asleep and Jer and I would sit peacefully in the front seat holding hands and talking about our expectations for the trip.
Except they didn’t. And we didn’t.
The kids were wide awake. Did I mention it was 2:00 a.m.? Watching Toy Story. Which at normal times of the day is a very cute movie but in the middle of the night is about as cute as shoving toothpicks into your eyeballs.
Worried over my sanity and the kids’ overall safety (you know, from me and my questionable sanity) I told them to turn the movie off and try to get some sleep. As soon as Buzz Lightyear faded into obscurity the kids’ eyelids were fluttering shut. I turned and looked at Jeremy with a smile on my face, anticipating the sunrise we were sure to be seeing in a few short hours.
And that’s where we were…in peaceful vehicular coexistance…when the puking started.
To be continued…
Mindy
Oh no…. Well it will be a road trip to remember =)
And that it was! 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Mindy
Oh heavens…that’s the start of something…of something…
Well, of something not good it seems.
Eagerly awaiting the next installment.
It was the start of something alright. Some not so good. Yes. 🙂
Mindy
Oh Mindy.
Whatever comes next, if it involves children and throwing up, I feel your pain.
Thanks, Mindee. I think most of us can commiserate when there are children and vomit involved. Actually, when there’s ANYTHING and vomit involved. 🙂
Mindy
OH NO, not puking!!!!! I feel so badly for you. Puking is bad enough but on a road trip…in the car…how horrible!!!!! You need and deserve a realy vacation now,like week of pampering at a spa!
I think a week of pampering at a spa is EXACTLY what I need. Now…to convince my hubby… 😉
Mindy
what a cliffhanger you left us with! Looking forward to Roadtrip II: From Puking to Pumpkins
Now, what a coincidence that we’re on a roadtrip too. My daughter went to space camp this week so I decided to drive her. Nearly 12 hours later we were in Huntsville, AL. I dropped her off at space camp and have been like a vagabond ever since. I’m touring the area, seeing the sites, and living like a vagabond. Sound like a good name for a band? Or maybe at least my next blogpost. Hope you have a great trip!
We tried that once….the 2 am start thing, when Mariah was a wee little one…. she never slept I spent the whole trip in the back seat with her shaking a rattle to keep her from crying when all John and I wanted to do was sleep. We did not have any “puking” but we did give up about 3 1/2 hours from our destination and paid full price for a hotel room that we were going to only use for a couple hours. We did not try that again until Mariah was old enough to drive so we had 3 drivers (and it was still awful)!
Can’t wait to hear what happened next 🙂
Wendy
I can’t believe you left us hanging like that! That’s worse then when I left everyone hanging about Sean’s (not) eye tumor! You horrible girl!!
That said…what the heck?! And poor you. Road tripping + puking = nothing nice. And by the by, nothing ever goes according to plan. You do know that, right??
♥Spot
Wendi with an i!!!
So funny! 🙂
Oh man, visions of my last road trip drift in my head. A three-year old and a six-year old within reach, pillow fighting and screeching those hi-girly pitched squeals for FOUR HOURS. Why didn’t they sleep? They sleep instantly when we drive 20mins through town. I am lucky I had my iPhone with earplugs, or someone would have DIED.
But no puking. Thank GOD.
Well I will be waiting for part two. You know you can buy headphones for those DVD’s so you dont have to listen….
It was starting to sound like such a lovely time…till the puking!