Portrait in Linen

The Idea
Miner and I agreed it’s finally time to take the family on our first ever “Lengthy Family Vacation.” That is, to a destination that’s more than one state away, and longer than an extended weekend.

Any sooner, and we’d have all fallen apart within the first two days, because Squeak and Mo were just too little to handle the required many miles of driving and walking. We’ve never been able to afford a long vacation anyway. But now, the urgency of Rocky approaching graduation and soon flying the nest trumps the pang of pain to the pocket book when considering a trip of any great magnitude. The kids won’t be kids forever. We don’t want to be those parents who look back and regret we never took our family further than the adjacent states.

Of course, the first consideration was, Where? Which direction would we like to go? North? East? West? Grand Canyon came to mind, but I reasoned–the kids should see the birthplace of the nation before anything else. Bring the History home, as it were. Miner agreed, and it will give him a chance to see his late father’s property for the first time since his passing Christmas before last.

So Washington D.C. is it. Ten days is all we can swing for his off-hitch. Ten days to see the Nation’s Capitol and however many surrounding sites we can squeeze in.

Still in the brainstorming phase of planning. Some possibilities…

Admittedly, there’s no way we could possible do it all. It’ll be painful marking off places we really want to see. We may never have another chance to go to these places, certainly not as a family. But, the reality is that time is not infinite for this trip, and neither is funding. So, we’ll have to be judicious and brutal.

Library Binge

I think I exhausted the 900’s section. Not only did I pick up travel guides for every candidate state; I also checked out books for reference and research on the sites we’ll be visiting: caverns, Thomas Jefferson, Amish culture, rocks and minerals, the Declaration of Independence.

Part of the strategy is to educate and enrich myself on the places we’re considering so I can prioritize. With one crack at it, would we rather see the Library of Congress, or the Liberty Bell? It’s like trying to choose whether to snack on peanut butter cookies or strawberries and creme. Both are delicious, and both offer different nutritional benefits. But which would we enjoy more?

The other part of the strategy is to expose (or re-expose) the kids to these specific educational points while it’s still early in the game. They need to learn these things anyway, but covering the material before the trip will give them added interest–because they anticipate being able to see these sites in person, in the near future–and will give them the facts they’ll eventually connect with the experience. Facts + Experience = Relevance and Retention. Learning doesn’t get much better than that.

Traveling with Kids

I was especially delighted to find a selection of books written for parents traveling with children. I’ve been reading through them pretty quickly, taking notes, making lists, and making copies of information I intend to incorporate later in the organization process. I’ve really come across a lot of valuable information.

• on-the-road recipes
• items for kids’ goodie backpacks (for long stretches of driving)
• itinerary suggestions to keep the kids (and parents) from getting burned out
• games to play during the drive
• scrapbooks, journals, memento ideas
• safety suggestions
• packing and organization tips
• crowd control ideas (for keeping everyone in line)

I’m most excited about compiling all these ideas and putting them into a personal handbook for future trips–and to pass down to the kids one day when they’re parents and taking their little ones on long trips, too.

(Note: I intend to share what I’ve learned later down the line, and to also share a list of books and websites that have been especially helpful.)

The Itinerary

For now, our main concern is nailing down a most basic itinerary. That means eliminating destinations we just can’t fit in and establishing exactly where we’d like to be on what date. Reservations can’t be made and a budget can’t be formulated until we have something to work with.

But, that will all have to wait until Miner’s home. There’s just no problem solving to be done through email, no matter how many itinerary samples or route maps I send. I’m really looking forward to pulling out the dry erase board, my new purple Family Vacation binder, and the good ol’ USA Atlas; putting on a pot of coffee; and whacking some ideas back and forth across the dining room table.

Overboard
Hoo, I’m up way later than I should be.  I’ve seriously slacked off in the writing group, so I’m trying very hard to participate and work up some inspiration and self-discipline to write something every night.  Just haven’t had the energy, time, or motivation to press out more time for me to do the one thing that brings some relaxation.

I don’t know if I feel good about today’s shopping or not.  Hit the fabric store sale and got what I decided to get–fabric and patterns for two outfits.  But of course the patterns were on sale, so I got what I “thought” I’d need this season.  I couldn’t find the knits I wanted, so I bought stretchy terry cloth instead.

Went to a second fabric store, because I was told some of the patterns I needed were half-price there.  Saved a couple bucks on patterns, but blew that, because I found the knits I wanted at Store #2.  In the end, I spent 50% more than I planned.  Feeling just awful about that.  But, I’ll feel much better if I complete the projects instead of letting my supply of fabric sit and grow.

Study Habits (or lack thereof)
Busy week ahead.  Squeak starts ballet tomorrow.  She’s so excited.

Prissy didn’t study the material she was supposed to study for voice class, so she’s going to have to cram tomorrow.  Last week, she did study the first couple nights after class, but then neglected the material for the rest of the week until the night before.  This week, she hasn’t looked at it at all, and I take full responsibility for not reminding her.  She’s not used to preparing well ahead of time for things like that.  I’m not doing too well teaching her good study habits.  I guess I could remedy that by simply adding it to the calendar.

**added to calendar**

Yahoo! Calendar
Honestly, I couldn’t live without the Yahoo! Calendar.  Ever since I started utilizing that free service a year ago, I’ve become entirely dependent on it to guide my day/week/month.  I rarely miss appointments anymore unless there is a valid reason to cancel or reschedule.  I never forget, because the calendar reminders come to my email every single morning.

I’ve been able to remember birthdays, bills, phone calls, assignments, deadlines for projects, upcoming community events.  And though some days, there may be up to ten items on the list, I can readily see the box may be completely empty two or three days down the road, and for me, that’s comforting.

Only problem is that the calendar is online.  There have been so many times I’ve been out and about or on the phone, and someone wants to schedule something or asks what day I have free.  I have to say, “I have no idea.  I’ll have to check my calendar online.”

On one hand, that’s annoying, because I can’t address the subject right then and there while it’s on the table.  On the other hand, it’s a very good thing, because then, I’m not too hasty to add something in and commit right there on the spot.  I have lots of time to think it over, consider the week in question, and truly judge whether or not I should first, make the commitment at all, and second, when would be the best time for it.

Overcommitting

I didn’t think the issue of overcommitting to extracurricular activities was anything to take very seriously.  We’ve never been ones to do too much, too frequently.  Most of the things that traditionally take us out of the house have been errands like groceries and bill-paying, or group trips to the library or park, etc.  The role of Mom-as-Taxi has always been under control, because we’ve always been too busy with other things at home to even think about doing things out of the house.

But I purposefully sought to change that this year.  I determined to put the kids each in their own endeavor, and committed to driving them where they needed, when they needed with no complaints.  And I don’t regret it.

However, I’m a believer now: it’s very easy to get so caught up in all the opportunities in the community available to homeschooled kids, that before you know it, you’ve scheduled something for every free hour of every day.  Then, when do you have time to study at home?  To watch a show together?  To cook together?  To cuddle and nap together?  To play games and read books, or just putter around?

M. was very good to establish early on, “One activity for each kid.”  Well, it all began that way.  But then, I thought it would be great for Rocky to take advantage of every opportunity to hang out with the other teens in the homeschooling group, which is at least three events per week.  And then, there’s the weekly family activities the homeschooling group does, like bowling (which I’ve signed us up for, too).  Sprinkle in field trips here and there, and there’s not too much time left for tending the house or projects at home, much less things like creative writing or sewing.

I’m not down and defeated about this.  We haven’t even gotten into the meat of it all, yet.  Moe and Rocky’s activities haven’t begun for the year, or bowling.  The next homeschooling group event is two weeks away, and the first field trip isn’t until the end of the month.  The calm before the storm?

I think I need to spend some time prioritizing, coming up with a contingency plan in case we just aren’t able to handle all we’ve gotten ourselves into.  “Balance” in homeschooling is something I feel it’s going to take us a while to find.  I do, however, feel like we’ve made a lot of progress.  This is only the second week of formal studies for us.  A few bugs have popped up, but I’m confident we can work them out in due time.

Nine items on the calendar for tomorrow.  We’ll be getting up early, which means my day will be a challenge, seeing as it’s 1:30 AM, and I’m still up writing.