Happy Thankgsgiving

Hi Everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I sure did! This year we are visiting my side of the family who lives out of state. We drove 9 hours with a 16 month old and survived.  Our secret is that we drove after work so she slept most of the way. Any other parents have advice for road trips with toddlers or small children?

I have found myself to becoming paranoid about family visits. Each year it gets harder and harder to live so far from my family. I get so excited about an upcoming visit but when it finally comes, I spend the whole trip worrying about how much time I have left that I can't fully enjoy the time I do have. I know that sounds a little crazy and I'm aware I do this but I can't stop it. We came up a month ago for just a weekend visit. I kept waking up the last night since I was so sad about leaving. I'm acting like an old lady set in her ways. Anyone else live far from their families?

We're so lucky to live near my husband's side of the family. It is helpful with having a baby. However, my mom is worried she's going to be "grandma far away" and my children won't know her. I worry about this too and make sure to show Teagan pictures and tell photos of her distant relatives.

There is one benefit to have one side near and one side far for holiday plans. When both families are close, you have to run around visiting everyone in one day. Bret and I just to spend all day in one spot. With both families far, you have to travel to two or more places. Traveling with kids to one place is enough for us.

We can never live in a place where everyone will be happy, including us. This is a hard fact to accept.   Add kids into the equation and people are even more sad.

We are thankful to be close with our families. We are thankful that they love us dearly and want to spend time with us and that we want to spend time with too. I am so BLESSED to have these people in my life.

I hope this blog didn't come off too whiny. I just wanted to state the facts and note the additional layer of complexity I have in my life.

You know you're a ftwm when....you need organization skills in both your personal and professional life.