Guess who left the camera battery at the hotel?
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Traveler's Remorse
We are leaving in approximately 10 hours.
This is my least-favorite part of the trip - Departure Eve. The night when everything is done (I think, I hope) and all that's left to do is wait, and I think too much.
The only truly legitimate worry up there is, "What if all my worrying prevents everyone from having fun?" So, tonight I'll work through it, and tomorrow we'll leave - hopefully with me in my zen happy place, instead of frantic-nail-biting-double-checking-what-we've-packed-list-making place.
Is this completely insane, or do you do it too? Is it part of being The Mom and therefore Responsible for Everyone Else's Fun/Safety/Wellbeing? Or am I just a fruitcake?
This is my least-favorite part of the trip - Departure Eve. The night when everything is done (I think, I hope) and all that's left to do is wait, and I think too much.
The kids are too little for Disneyworld. They won't even remember it.It's exhausting. The thing is, I know we'll have fun once we get there. I know that it'll be great. But the night before is hard on me. I worry myself sick. I wish I had a switch and could turn it off, but the only way I've found to deal with it is to think through every possible bad thing that could happen, and have a plan. So, if I forgot to pack things, we'll find the nearest Walmart. No big deal. If Claire has a tantrum there we'll handle it the same way we handle them here. No big deal. I'm sure she wouldn't be the first kid to spaz at Disneyworld. As for the concerns about the economy and the money - eh, it's only money. We'll make more. And most of the money is already spent, anyway, so freaking out isn't going to change or fix anything.
We're cramming too much into too short a stay.
We're taking a toddler and a pre-schooler. On an airplane. And they won't let us sit five rows away and pretend that the kids belong to someone else.
Hotel rooms don't have chocolate milk on tap. The kids are going to explode with tiny fury before we even get out of the hotel room in the morning.
Hotels have pools. Someone is going to drown.
Hotels have pools. I have to wear a swimming suit. (Please note that these worries are in no particular order, and I certainly don't think that being forced to wear a swimsuit is the same as experiencing a hotel-pool drowing!)
The economy is in the toilet, we should be saving our money right now, not spending.
We could've spent that money on (insert any combination of 10 million things) instead!
I can't believe how much the effing park tickets cost. Good Lord! There's no way we're going to get our money's worth.
Florida is hot. And humid. And they have lots and lots of bugs.
No-see-ums.
Sunburns.
What if we run out of (insert any combination of 10 million things that I have packed)???
What if Tim forgets to come stay with Max?
What if our credit cards don't work in Florida (Holy carp! I forgot to call the bank and tell them we're traveling! Add that to the to-do list for tomorrow...)?
What if we get into a car accident in the rental car?
What if the plane crashes?
What if Claire has a temper tantrum in the middle of It's a Small World?
What if I never get the stupid song out of my head?
What if something bad happens here while we're away?
What if someone gets lost?
What if I forget to get a picture of the kids on the Dumbo ride, or pick up Kaity's
Christmas ornament?
What if I neglected to pack underwear?
What if I neglected to pack diapers?
What if no one has fun?
What if all my worrying prevents everyone from having fun?
The only truly legitimate worry up there is, "What if all my worrying prevents everyone from having fun?" So, tonight I'll work through it, and tomorrow we'll leave - hopefully with me in my zen happy place, instead of frantic-nail-biting-double-checking-what-we've-packed-list-making place.
Is this completely insane, or do you do it too? Is it part of being The Mom and therefore Responsible for Everyone Else's Fun/Safety/Wellbeing? Or am I just a fruitcake?
Insurance and Your Family
Over the weekend, a friend of ours had an accident. He works construction, and he was working on a side-job with my brother-in-law, and he fell when a piece of scaffolding broke beneath him and he broke both bones in his leg. He has already had two surgeries. He'll be in the hospital at least a week, and can't bear weight until Christmas. Obviously this is going to put a huge financial strain on his family.
If any of you have been through something similar, and have suggestions as to how we can help out his family, I'd love to hear them.
Anyway, it got me thinking about insurance. Insurance is one of those things they really should teach in high school - but don't. I'm well into my 30s, and I'm still not entirely sure how all of it works.
I do know that BJ and I have short-term disability insurance that covers BJ if he can't work. It'll pay 80% of his salary for like 2 years. I also know that AFLAC has an accident policy that, thank goodness, will cover some of my friend's family's expenses.
If you own a home, you simply must have homeowner's insurance. Hopefully the policy of the homeowner that my friend was working for will come through and help with their expenses, also. If you rent, renter's insurance is extremely affordable and could be invaluable if there's a fire and you lose everything you own.
In light of what happened to my friend, I hope each of you will check with an insurance agent and make sure that you have some kind of coverage for accidents and lost wages. I know it's frustrating to pay for so many kinds of insurance - we have homeowner's, car, health, disability, life... - but the peace of mind that you'll get from having everything in place, just in case, is well worth the money.
And again, if you have any suggestions for how we can help this family (they live in Grammaland) please let me know.
If any of you have been through something similar, and have suggestions as to how we can help out his family, I'd love to hear them.
Anyway, it got me thinking about insurance. Insurance is one of those things they really should teach in high school - but don't. I'm well into my 30s, and I'm still not entirely sure how all of it works.
I do know that BJ and I have short-term disability insurance that covers BJ if he can't work. It'll pay 80% of his salary for like 2 years. I also know that AFLAC has an accident policy that, thank goodness, will cover some of my friend's family's expenses.
If you own a home, you simply must have homeowner's insurance. Hopefully the policy of the homeowner that my friend was working for will come through and help with their expenses, also. If you rent, renter's insurance is extremely affordable and could be invaluable if there's a fire and you lose everything you own.
In light of what happened to my friend, I hope each of you will check with an insurance agent and make sure that you have some kind of coverage for accidents and lost wages. I know it's frustrating to pay for so many kinds of insurance - we have homeowner's, car, health, disability, life... - but the peace of mind that you'll get from having everything in place, just in case, is well worth the money.
And again, if you have any suggestions for how we can help this family (they live in Grammaland) please let me know.
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