When my sister-in-law called last week to invite us to a sweet "cabin" near Bryce National Park with her family and some of Mike's other siblings and their families, Mike was pretty unsure he would be able to leave work due to some deadlines. 3 pm on Tuesday, Mike confirmed that he would not be able to leave. My sister-in-law, who was going on trip sans husband with her four kids, invited me and the kids to go anyway, without Mike. The typical litany of reasons why I would fear going on a vacation alone with my kids immediately sprung to mind: the three of us sharing one bedroom without Mike to help
negotiate middle-of-the-night tears over unfamiliar beds and surroundings; who would watch the kids while I worked out or showered?; trying to hike with an eighteen month old and a three year old. Yet, I love fall. I love hiking and the outdoors. I love family. I want my kids to love these things too. Sometimes, as a parent, I loathe to leave my comfort zone of routines and predictability. At 3pm I turned to a confused Olivia and said, "You've got to live a little, right Olivia?" And we threw our stuff together and were headed out of town in Mel's Excursion by 5:30 pm. We had fun.
Olivia and
some of her cute girl cousins. Olivia and
JT have 41 cousins on Mike's side of the family. People are often surprised to hear this number. I've never had anyone say this, but I wonder if some people imagine it would be hard to stay close and connected with an extended family this size. I must say that each of these little cousins is numbered and known and loved and remembered individually (except for that one time an unnamed aunt lost little Jake at the Stadium of Fire fireworks). My children are so lucky to have so many wonderful cousins living near (17 within a two-mile radius of our house) and far (Massachusetts). I feel grateful that my children's lives are benefited in so many ways by their large, generous, and caring extended family. And, I hope our trip this week added a few more fun memories to the bank.
