The Heat is On

“It was always so hot, and everyone was so polite, and everything was all surface but underneath it was like a bomb waiting to go off. I always felt that way about the South, that beneath the smiles and southern hospitality and politeness were a lot of guns and liquor and secrets.”
― James McBride

I am sitting in my recliner in ragged boxer shorts and a thin white tank top, lazily fanning myself with a dog-eared copy of Better Homes and Gardens.  A lone box fan is pointed near me but all it seems to do is to stir up the heat, making it wash over me in waves.   The dogs are looking at me, sadly, lying on the couch across the room.  Neither is panting but both have paced the floors throughout the day, looking at me quizzically.  I don't think they're accustomed to such stillness from me or from the heavy air.

The ice in my water melts almost immediately, the condensation from the glass mocking me from a pool around the bottom of the coaster.  There is no music on nor television to distract me.  I am sitting in the heat...just being hot.

I have no desire to get up and clean or move at all.  I haven't done a single load of laundry.  I haven't even read much.  I'm like an old-timer on a Southern front porch, just sitting and rocking and watching the world go by.  Mostly what I'm doing is sitting here counting my blessings.

• I have electricity to move the blades of the fans in the house.  The overhead fans are whirring away and the box fans hum along on their highest setting.  I am so grateful for electricity.
• Yesterday, it rained.  I am so grateful for the rains that have cooled the air.  
• At some point, when the parts come in and when my HVAC guy can get the almost-day-long job on his schedule, I will have working air conditioning again.  I am thankful that I have a job so I can pay for this new unit.  
• I am thankful for a working refrigerator with a built-in icemaker.  How fortunate I am that I can grab a cool drink in this confounded heat!
• I am so happy that my boys were able to go the beach with their dad this last weekend.  They'll miss some of this heat since they won't return here until Tuesday night.  I am grateful to be able to teach them the lesson of how blessed we really are.  Doing without increases your appreciation for what you do have when you have it.
• I am thankful for my friends who have offered a place to stay in the heat.  I haven't taken them up on it, but I appreciate the offers.  And I am so grateful for the friendships I have.  
• I am healthy.  My boys and my animals are healthy.  I am so grateful that we have good health and are able to endure the heat without too much stress on our minds and bodies.
• I have a car so if I really need to get up and out of this heat, I can gather up the animals and we can take a drive with cool A/C!  Or, I can use the car to go buy more box fans.  Or I can go and find an air-conditioned restaurant to cool my heels in for a little while.  I am so thankful I have a car that works.  
• I am so thankful that I can be thankful.  My heart and my mind are at peace these days.  I can focus on the many, many wonderful things in life instead of dwelling on the things that may not work as well.  I am grateful that I have a heart that seeks peace.   And I am thankful that I have so many people to love. 

So, kids, enjoy your air-conditioning.  Don't worry about me over here sweating my patootie off.  Coolness will come in time.  At least night will fall in a bit (although I think I'm going to wander out of this house in just a while to bring my core temperature down a few degrees before bedtime).  Maybe I'll look at some pictures of Alaska for a while or think about my childhood years in Leadville, CO where no one has any need of air-conditioning because the altitude is greater than 10,000 feet and the average high in July is about 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

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My Advice for College Freshman (Even Though You Didn't Ask)

“I've learned one thing, and that's to quit worrying about stupid things. You have four years to be irresponsible here, relax. Work is for people with jobs. You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember the time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So stay out late. Go out with your friends on a Tuesday when you have a paper due on Wednesday. Spend money you don't have. Drink 'til sunrise. The work never ends, but college does...”
― Tom Petty

I suppose that's easy for Tom Petty to say....he's a gazillionaire.  While his advice is not EXACTLY what I would give to incoming freshman, I do have a few hard-earned words of wisdom.

Several of my friends are bidding adieu to their precious offspring at the end of the summer.  They're booting them out of the nest into the Great Unknown of Adulthood...well, semi-adulthood...and into College.  Naturally, my thoughts turn to my own misspent youth and my college years at the illustrious N.C. State University.

Thing 2 and Thing 1 on the Brickyard at NCSU

When I first arrived on campus for freshman orientation a billion years ago, I was completely unprepared for the experience.  I had never set foot on a college campus (nope, never did the pre-college tour thing).  I had no money.  I had no real adult skills.  I have no idea how I managed to make it.

But as I sat on the bottom floor of Metcalf Residence Hall at 2:00 a.m. on a sweaty July night (yes, kids, this was prior to the advent of campus-wide A/C) discussing my future with my new bestie (a guy who'd been a stranger two hours before), I felt like I belonged for the very first time in my whole life.  I remember getting teary sitting there, talking about my wide-open life plans and realizing that this, finally, was a place where I fit in.  College.  I sat there, breathing in the freshly-polished floor, sweaty teenager smells, and I remember smiling broadly and thinking to myself that I would take advantage of this perfect fit.

I lost touch with the car-guy-bestie I met on that first day (I've always been a sucker for car guys), but I entered N.C. State University that fall as a wide-eyed country girl with high hopes and big-city dreams.  I threw myself into the experience with abandon.  I signed up for classes and I met people and I talked and talked and talked.  I put myself out there.  The next year, I became a resident advisor and, for the next three years, watched tides of incoming freshman enter, stumble and then regain their footing.  I listened, mediated roommate arguments and laughed through all hours of the day and night with scores of students.  I miss many of them and often wonder where they are today.

So, if you have a kid who's getting ready to make the leap, I have a few words of advice for them (and for you):

1. Take advantage of the opportunity.  Tell your kids to do the college experience RIGHT.  There are so many cultural activities activities on a college campus.  I watched bagpipe players.  I went to modern dance recitals.  I fell in love with a cappella music.  I listened to lectures on diversity.  I took a freakin' ballet class.  I began a lifelong love of drama when I played a part or two at Thompson Theatre.  I dove into college headfirst and I took full advantage of the incredible world that exists only on a campus.  Students have everything they need to thrive and become contributing members of society right there.  Don't sit in your room studying ALL THE TIME.  Don't go drinking with your friends all the time.  Go out and experience new things.  Stretch your mind.
2. Don't stick with the people you know.  There are THOUSANDS of new people on a campus.  I always moan a little bit when I meet freshmen who are rooming with another kid from their high school.  Take a chance.  Meet new people.  Get out of your comfort zone.  You may find that you have WAY more in common with the kid from Minnesota than you do with the kid from your hometown.  I'm not saying you AVOID the people you already know...but, again, STRETCH yourself.  Free your mind.
3. Explore different classes.  I entered college as a freshman in the engineering department.  Holy mother of pearl!  What was I THINKING? (I would be a TERRIBLE engineer.)  But I took a class called "Interpersonal Communication" (doesn't the title of that class just SCREAM Kelly?) over on the bright side of campus and realized that the people in THAT world were LAUGHING!  The classrooms were brighter.  The students didn't look all dour and morose all the time with their hair standing on end from running their fingers through it in frustration over the latest Diff EQ assignment.  That class changed the course of my life. 
4. Live in your dorm. (I STILL have trouble calling it a dorm.  A dorm is where you sleep.  A residence hall is where you live and grow).  Do not get an apartment your freshman year.  I wouldn't get an apartment your sophomore year either.  LIVE on CAMPUS.  It's where the action is.  And don't go HOME every weekend.  Home will be there on holidays.  Home will be there when you graduate.  College is short-lived.  BE THERE. 
5. Parents: Visit (not too often, though) and take your kids out to dinner.  Some of the most wonderful memories I have were when parents would visit campus and take their kid and one or two friends out to dinner.  I just thought this was cool.  And parents can get a glimpse of who (and what) is newly important in their new young adult's life. 
6. Remember this: the time is fleeting.  You won't be in college long.  Breathe it in.  Be present in every single moment.  The real world is knocking on your door.  And someday, you won't be able to wake up at noon and stagger to your first class.  I don't necessarily believe in the saying "those were the best years of my life" because I believe we can make the best out of every day if we try hard enough.  But I DO believe there is nothing like college.  Enjoy the ride.

I cannot WAIT for Thing 1 and Thing 2 to be ready for their university experience.  I understand that I will be far more excited about it than they will (unless, of course, I drive them crazy enough between now and then that they are excited just to GET AWAY FROM ME).  I am always a little envious of freshman...even now. 

In closing, I only have two more words:  Go Pack!  :)

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Dear George Clooney

“You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not.”
― Jodi Picoult

Dear George Clooney,

So, it's all over the headlines.  You've broken up with your latest super-hot girlfriend 20 or 30 years your junior.  Or did she break up with you?  I didn't get that straight in the snippet I got from Entertainment Tonight last night.  Regardless, you are now ON THE MARKET.  Just thought you'd like to know that I'm single, too.  Coinky-dink?  I think not.

I'm a REAL CATCH, George.

See, George, here's the thing: I think it's time you experienced a REAL woman.  Sure, you can argue that because you're a super-hot, super-wealthy, incredibly talented bachelor, you can have any woman in the world so why BOTHER choosing a real woman.  That would be ONE argument.

The other side of the coin, though, is all about what you're looking for.  I mean, you MIGHT be looking for someone just to have on your arm so that everyone looks at you and thinks, "Damn!  How do two such super-hot people not just burst into flames when they look at each other?"  I mean, if all you're looking for is someone hot and nubile to spend your time with then, by all means, continue to date these gorgeous women who want nothing more than your money and a position in the sidecar when you jet around the world.  

BUT, if you want something with a little more SUBSTANCE, then I suggest you give me a call.  Sure, I'm a little messy.  Maybe a little lazy sometimes.  I DO eat real food.  My diet consists of more than a few carrot sticks and an Ensure shake to provide nutrients.  Of course, that shows in my thighs...but, no matter.  We all look the same in the dark, right George?  

I can be a little demanding.  I'll need you to bring home some extra half-n-half for my coffee, if that's all right.  And, oh, there are these two kids who live in my house.  They can be a little loud and demanding as well.  But, if you'll just buy them a few video games, I'm sure they won't get in the way.  Here's the good news:  I don't want to have any MORE kids.  I heard that was an issue in your last relationship.

I have a job, which will cut into our travel schedule a little.  But I get three WEEKS of vacation...so, that should be plenty of time for that little Italian getaway.  

Oh, and I don't really wake up pretty.  I mean, my hair is a little crazy and I walk like I'm about a hundred years old immediately upon waking.  These old joints just don't respond as well as they used to.  But, in no time, my hobble increases to a slow crawl.  You'll get used to it after a while.

Bonus news:  my hair isn't gray.  Yet.  Yours is...but I don't mind, George, because you're a guy.  A super-hot, super-wealthy, super-talented guy.  I can overlook your grays, George.  That's just how generous I am.

I'm sure we can take care of that extra little jiggle I have when I walk the red carpet with you.  Spanx are perfect for that kind of thing and I already own some in nude AND in black.  So...we're totally covered there.  My vocabulary MIGHT be a little larger than what you're used to but we'll get you a Scrabble board and start practicing right away.  I don't want to be bored on all of these nights we'll be spending together, George.

So, listen.  I'll just be waiting for your call.  Text is OK, too, because I DO have a job.  I'm really excited about our future together.  I know you are, too.  

With love,
Your future amour

Why I Will Never Win a Beauty Pageant

“Give me the discipline to get rid of the stuff that's not important, the freedom to savor the stuff that gives me joy, and the patience not to worry about the stuff that's messy but not hurting anybody.”
― Vinita Hampton Wright

OK, so even if they HAVE beauty pageants for really old people on the back nine of life, I can NEVER, EVER win.  This is NOT because I do not have the perfectly crafted answer to the question "What is the biggest problem our planet faces?" because I totally do (lack of good coffee, duh) but it is because of my car.

A rare picture.  It was cleaned..by someone else.

You may have seen my car.  It's a nondescript bluish-greenish color with filthy, filthy wheels.  Well, OK, the FRONT wheels are filthy because the most brake dust is generated in the front.  The BACK wheels are just kinda dirty.  I haven't washed my car in...well, I can't actually REMEMBER the last time I washed it but I truly am grateful for all this rain we've been having because it totally rinses the grime off.

Beauty pageant contestants are well known for their poise, their grace and the cleanliness of their cars.  This is a little known fact but I am almost CERTAIN that beauty pageant winners do not make left turns accompanied by the music of half-full water bottles being crunched under the weight of the Goodwill box that was meant to be dropped off two weeks ago. 

I am currently missing three pairs of reading glasses.  I found ONE pair earlier tonight wedged between the right side of my driver's seat and the center console housing the emergency brake.  They weren't mangled beyond repair and are resting comfortably on the end of my nose as I type this.  Success!  Note:  Beauty pageant contestants also do not wear reading glasses.  (I am not so elitist as to claim they don't READ but, you know, if the shoe fits..)

I just realized about five minutes ago that last night's pizza boxes (complete with at least two or three slices of actual pizza) are still in my trunk. Oops.  The BIG deal is that the four bag chairs that were absolutely drenched in the latest monsoon are still neatly folded in there as well.  Probably developing mildew as we speak.  That'll make for a nice smell in the morning...

Any time I turn a corner, I wait for the sound of shifting items.  I should probably belt in some of the larger items simply for safety reasons.  MOST of the stuff in my car is not actually trash (although I did see some french fries in the back seat yesterday...I'm assuming the boys are saving those for a day when I forget to feed them). Most of the stuff is just...stuff.  Shirts.  Socks. Pens.  Books.  Notebooks.  CDs.  Water bottles (all half-full...none of them are empty...which is weird).  Yo-yos.  (I counted a few days ago.  There are three.)

One would think that I would simply...clean it out.  But, something always distracts me.  As soon as I get in the house from the garage my mind immediately flits to...anything else.  But I suppose I need to do something about that pizza and those chairs pretty quickly...maybe even tonight.

So, Beauty Pageant Organizers, just don't call me.  It's not even just that I would be mortified over the swimsuit competition (not because of my fat butt...more because of my lily-white, blue-veined legs) but it's that you won't be able to do the car close-up.  I just can't hang.

It's getting late.  I'll think about cleaning it tomorrow.  Tomorrow IS another day...

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We Are Family

“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”
― Mother Teresa

I have spent the past week entirely in the company of my children.  I am currently locked away in my bedroom with a glass of wine and two dogs with the television blasting the third season of the Gilmore Girls.  After seven days, suffice it to say that I am finished with family time.

Rock, paper, scissors during the Fourth of July Festival

Don't get me wrong.  I adore my children.  I do.  But I would currently like to adore them from a distance.  Preferably with them downstairs pursuing their own activities and me upstairs not having to talk to them.  People say that I will miss them when they're gone.  And I'm sure I will.  (Surely.)  But, for now, I need some space.  And some quiet.  And a few minutes where no one is farting and then telling me about it.

We had a lot of terrific conversations this past week and we endured some fun (and some not-so-fun) activities together.  I learned more about these growing strangers in my home and I feel closer to them after hours in the car and in the house.  We've had junk food feasts, marathon movie sessions, car rides in the countryside and a variety of learning activities disguised as fun.  We didn't get to nearly all of what we wanted to do but that's typical of life with me.  One day, we decided to wake up when we wanted to and we stayed in our pajamas and ate ice cream.  We didn't have a typical "vacation" but it was one that may have been the most valuable yet.  And I'm leaving it feeling fulfilled and rested and ready to get away from these two.

I came to an interesting conclusion here at the end of the week.  For a long time, I have yearned for an adult companion to share our vacations and, in truth, our lives.  I told my Ex Husband the other day that I am glad for the ability to come and go as I please, to do what I want and to not share my bed with a snoring man.  But that wasn't really the whole truth.  I have wished for that very thing over the past several years.  I tell myself (and others) that it's better this way.  It's better to be single and do what I wish.  But I have longed for a man who loves me and, most importantly, loves my children as his own.  And, as much as I like to ignore it, I am a woman who was made to be loved by a man. 

This may really not happen for our little family.  Thing 1 will be up and out into the world in only five short years and Thing 2 will be not far behind him.  During this week together, I found that I enjoyed their company wholly and fully and we were able to be loud and silly together.  I found myself wondering if a blended family would somehow change that.  The answer is undoubtedly yes.  It WOULD change it...now, I can't say if it would be BETTER or WORSE.  But the change would be inevitable.

So I came up with a few good reasons why it's OK for me to remain a single mom for the next seven years:

• I can make all the decisions.  Let's face it.  I'm ALL ABOUT control.  And being right.  And, if I'm the only adult present, I can sing Janet Jackson ALL DAY LONG.  "Now I know I've got to take...control.  Now, I've got a lot..."  I can say yes.  Or no.  And we can have ice cream BEFORE dinner.  
• I can roll my eyes when Thing 1 has an adolescent throwing-things-in-his-room-fit.  This morning, Thing 1 woke up on the WRONG side of bed.  Thing 2 and I were downstairs hearing thuds and thumps.  I knew Thing 1 was just working things out and allowed the behavior because he wasn't harming anyone...he was just getting out his feelings physically without being destructive.  That's totally allowed in my home.  When he came down and slammed his breakfast dishes on the table, I addressed the behavior quickly and it ceased immediately.  I worry that another adult might escalate poor behavior instead of addressing and defusing it.
• We can eat cereal for dinner.  Rules are present in my home but I'm not a stickler for some things.  I see no reason to cook a meat and two vegetables for EVERY SINGLE DINNER.  Sometimes we have cereal. Sometimes we have nutter-fluffers.  And, while we almost ALWAYS eat at the table, sometimes we have TV dinners.  Flexibility is my middle name.
• There is no drama.  I'm not always the best at choosing partners.  I don't want to cry in front of my kids because my feelings are hurt.  I don't want to lose myself or sacrifice myself for another person.  That wouldn't be good.  When the time is right, I will be in a HEALTHY relationship with someone who respects me and loves my kids.  As it is, we have zero drama.  Zero drama is an important part of family life. 
• They get all of me.  I can focus on my hoodlums.  My time and attention belong to them.  OK, I understand that it's important for them to see how healthy relationships function.  But they can get that from their dad and his girlfriend right now.  Or from their grandparents.  They don't have to model relationships from me.  What I can do is give them my energy.  I can laugh at their jokes (but only if they're funny) and play games with them and talk with them about their ideas. 

 Sure, part of me is still a bit sad that we don't have a fourth wheel with a wheel or two or three of his own.   But that's just not in the cards for us.  At least not for right now.   And that's OK. (I mean, I wouldn't say "no" to, you know, a real-life Prince Charming or anything...)  Our little family is chugging along just fine.  As long as they stay downstairs for a little while...

If you like my blog, share it.  Or Like my FB page to get updates.  Or subscribe to the e-mail list.  Or make a comment below.  If you don't like it, well...just try not to hurt my feelings.  I'm sensitive.

    

  

Ignorance Truly Is Bliss

“One reason that cats are happier than people is that they have no newspapers.”
― Gwendolyn Brooks

Some time ago, I made the decision to remove the daily news from my life.  Before then, I let the news wash over me, swirling into every corner of my head.  I wallowed in political upheavals, I raged at social injustices and I wept for victims in every tragedy.  I sought out news that made me FEEL and wept over the Sunday paper more times than I can count.  I could speak intelligently about issues around the world and I would do so, often heatedly with my voice strident and raised.

I found myself walking around, zombie-like, in a storm cloud of depression almost all the time.  Sure, there were other factors but immersing myself in the news fed this overwhelming sadness.  I ached emotionally almost all the time.  I sought out stories that I KNEW would make me feel worse but somehow it seemed that I deserved this pain.  After all, these poor people in these news stories were suffering far worse than I and it only seemed right that someone tried to share their pain.

This was crazy.  I was taking on the problems of the ENTIRE WORLD and feeling bad about it. 

I started taking full responsibility for my own emotions a few years ago.  I developed the understanding (the TRUE understanding instead of just the intellectual awareness) that no one can make you feel anything.  Sure, people can treat you badly but your reaction to their treatment of you is entirely your own.  If someone yells at you and you feel sad...that sadness comes from you.  If they yell at you and you feel angry...that anger originates in you.  They may be TRYING to get these reactions out of you but, in the end, the reactions are your own and fully of your own making.  You can, believe it or not, choose to react in different ways.  And, if someone treats you badly over and over again, you are also responsible for whether or not you continue to allow them in your life.  You have the ultimate responsibility for your own actions and your own life.

The same thing is true of circumstances: jobs, activities, and, yes, even news.

So I made a choice.  I no longer read news if I can help it.  I watch snippets of the Today Show to get a general idea of what's going on in the world but I don't follow up on the stories with a variety of media outlets.  I don't go to CNN.com.  I don't visit liberal news media sources or conservative news media sources.  I even stopped listening to NPR.

And guess what?  On the whole, I am a much happier person.

Oh, I can no longer hold my own in a political discussion and I would fall flat on my face in a dinner party discussion of world events.  I don't really talk about the news.  Ever.  Does it make me an irresponsible citizen?  Yes, I think it might.  But I was a responsible citizen for a really long time and I didn't effect any real change in the world.  Do I care?  Not so much. 

I worry that not knowing about the world around me will make my brain decay and wither.  But I still love books and I even started working those crazy Sudoku puzzles in addition to my various word games and crosswords.  So, I'm exercising that muscle.

Do I want the world to change?  Oh my, yes.  Do I want people to operate out of love and not hate?  Of course I do.  But the world will do what it will do.  And I will live in love...not sadness.  And maybe, just maybe, the fact that I'm not watching the news and absorbing all that bile into my own life will cause change in my little corner of the world.  

THAT, my friends, is making a difference.  Because I no longer walk around sad and numbed, I am more patient and kind.  I wasn't making ANY difference before.  I wasn't an activist for change.  I was just a sad person reading a lot about the suffering of others.  I wasn't DOING ANYTHING but feeling sad.

There are people who are spurred to action by reading the news. Their outrage drives them to create change.  I salute those people.  And perhaps someday I will be one of them.  But, for now, I continue to heal.  I continue to become a complete person.  And, until I am stronger, I will avoid the news.  Happily.  Blissfully. In ignorance.

If you like my blog, share it.  Or Like my FB page to get updates.  Or subscribe to the e-mail list.  Or make a comment below.  If you don't like it, well...just try not to hurt my feelings.  I'm sensitive.

    

 

Winging It: An American Family Staycation

“Her purchases just about busted her vacation budget, but what else is a vacation for, if not for overindulgence and mindless extravagance?”
― Candace Schuler

For the first time in my adult life, I am actively participating in a staycation.   The staycation isn't one where we just stay at HOME, but one where we stay within a day's drive (to and from...we spend the nights in our own beds) from our home.  The idea of a staycation runs in direct opposition to everything I feel.  I enjoy leaving home.  I like going..anywhere and everywhere.  I enjoy flying and driving to different places and spending the nights in random hotels in random places.  And, if my funds and time were unlimited, I don't think I would ever spend more than a few nights in a row at home.  Perhaps I would tire of unlimited travel eventually, but I think it would take about forty years.

Regardless, I have embarked on the path of an actual grown-up these past couple of years and am not willing to spend money I don't have on a vacation.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American family spends about $1,415 for a week's vacation.  When I think about our past vacations, that's probably a pretty accurate figure.  I'd like to spend about a THIRD of that this year. Ideally, I'd like to spend about a TENTH of that but gas alone is going to blow that idea.  I didn't save money specifically for vacation this year...and I'm living my life on a budget without overspending (which is a novel concept in my life and one that frustrates me greatly on a regular basis).  I loathe the idea that I have to factor in expenses in planning a vacation but it's a cold reality.  Being a REAL grown-up SUCKS.

Thing 1, Thing 2 and I on a Great Adventure

I did say "planning" a vacation, right?   Yeah, I don't really know about all that.  I'm kind of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda girl.  I had a big "plan" for today's great adventure. I was going to drive them up to the Dan River and get a few inner tubes and have a lazy river float today complete with a succulent picnic lunch on a riverbank.  I woke up to the sound of a delicious rain and cloudy skies.  Hmm.  Guess we'll go indoors today.  Somewhere.  I'll have to think about it...

I'm convinced this year's staycation will be a valuable experience for the hoodlums.  They'll learn a few things on their summer vacation with mom this year:

1. You don't have to go far to have fun.  There will be days (perhaps today) when we stay in town and do things like go to TWO movies in a row.  Or we'll have Family Games at the kitchen table with popcorn and ice cream.  Or we'll just go amble along some of the many beautiful walking paths in our town we've never bothered to explore.  Life is a Great Adventure...every day...no matter where you end up.
2. Our vacation will fit into a budget.  Just because I WANT to fly to Europe and have a Grand Euuropean Adventure doesn't mean I can afford to do it.  The reality of life is that you have to fit your adventures into your wallet.  It's not a lesson I enjoy and it's not a lesson I love to teach on VACATION.  But it's a valuable lesson for kids.  They KNOW I love to go (just go).  And they know that traveling is something I WANT.  But, there is a greater lesson to them in letting them know that I can adjust my wants to fit within my means.  Sure, I still have dreams of an amazing cross-country adventure (that I've decided I will begin saving for...TODAY!) with Thing 1 and Thing 2.  But, for now, I am going to play out our dreams on a smaller scale.  Sometimes, kids, you can't always get what you want.  But you can STILL have fun doing it.  
3. What I want MOST is to spend time as a family.  I adore my kids.  And they're growing into young adults before my very eyes.  They're developing their own personalities and becoming people that I enjoy being around.  This staycation is just another opportunity to be with these new people I'm ushering into adulthood.  In the end?  It doesn't really matter if, where or when we go.  The thing that matters is that I get the pleasure of their company.  (Talk to me in a week when I've been around them 24-7 for seven days.)

It's a staycation.  The Great Kelly Family Staycation of 2013.  But it's STILL a Great Adventure.  These things are fun and fun is good, as sayeth the wise and good Theodore Geiss.

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