Trip Prep

Okay, peeps.

Our Hawaii bags are packed and we’re (kinda) ready to go.

Disclaimer: the above pic was taken was before those bad boys were loaded to the point of busting—along with a sixth suitcase that had to handle overflow, ha.

I’m just gonna go on record and say this has been the most daunting trip prep we’ve ever tackled as a family, for the following reasons:

Duration

This is the first trip we’ve taken as a family of five that involves this many nights away—without access to a washer and dryer.

I mean, yeah, sure, we’ve taken lots of trips to grandparents that involve us being away from home about 10 days. But I only ever pack for about four of those days, and just tackle lots of laundry while we’re gone.

Plus, for those trips, we’re typically traveling by car, so we can stuff it to the point that the trunk won’t close and it’s all good. Packing for air travel in confined suitcases with a weight limit is a whole different ball game.

Activities

In addition to packing for quite a few nights away without a washer and dryer, the planned activities of this trip have necessitated a whole lotta clothes and shoes and gear.

I mean, obviously, this is a beach vacation, so there will be daily swimming. Enter: bathing suits, cover ups, water shoes, goggles, flip flops, sunscreen, bug spray…and that’s the bare minimum.

But each day, we also have excursions and activities planned—along with evening dining/events, as well.

So that pretty much calls for three clothing/gear changes a day, and allllllll that entails for five humans

I mean, I’m not at all exaggerating when I say that our suitcases are precisely packed, strategically organized, and still chock full.

Cleaning Hoopla

If you know me at all—or have followed along with this here blog for any length of time—you know that organization is my jam, and I tend to keep a tidy house because it helps with my sanity and the chaos of our busy life.

Though I’m proud to report that I’m far more laid back about most things in life than I was about two decades ago (including my cleaning habits) I still have the very strong preference to leave a clean house when we go on a major trip, because it helps me so much mentally while I’m away—and upon our return, when the laundry is a mountain and we’re often diving right back into life commitments and schedules without time to pause and regroup.

So…yeah. I’ve been cleaning as I’ve been packing and it’s really not any fun.

It took me a solid 48 hours to get through the packing/cleaning angst, and those were really un-fun days.

However.

I’ve learned a lot over the years about packing/cleaning and working in quality time with my crazies, during the burden of trip prep.

So we’ve spent the last few days doing an hour of to-dos, then a break for fun, including but not limited to: a really fun clay/animal project, some Mama/son video game time (hysterical), a family Moana movie viewing (hyping us up for island vibes), swimming, card games, and just some good old fashioned snuggle time.

It helps immensely to take these mental breaks—both for me and for the kiddos. But it also takes a lot of planning to make time for the work and fun, and at the end of the day, it leaves me wiped!

Pause for some fun photos of some of our diversionary tactics:

A Wrench In Plans

Now. This last trip prep item involves rolling with the punches—something we’ve most definitely had to do in the past 48 hours.

About two days ago, our downstairs A/C unit stopped cooling properly, and given the timing of our departure, we called for maintenance right away and dealt with a 10 p.m. diagnosis so we could see what we were up against.

The problem was evident right away, but the solution is much more complicated, involving either a very costly coil repair, or a complete replacement of the unit (gut punch of the maximum degree).

In addition to dealing with the discomfort of a warm house, the hubby and I had to relocate to Little Man’s bedroom while this process plays out, and I was doing pretty decent mentally—until the broken part on the unit caused a section to freeze over and then thaw, resulting in a leak coming through the playroom ceiling.

I sort of succumbed to my sadness/anger/frustration when that happened (this isn’t our first, second, third, fourth or fifth leak in this house—and that’s if you don’t count the COMPLETE water disaster, destruction and restoration of the downstairs about 15 months ago).

I took a moment to go cry in our (hot) master bedroom and bemoan our luck and the timing before I could pull it together and deal. And wouldn’t you know, it was my empath of an eight-year-old, my amazing, soulful soulful Chicklet who eventually came to find me to talk through things.

The conversation in its entirety is one I’ll never forget, and it’s worth summarizing here. But first, let me note that she came to find me whilst scooting along the hardwood floor on top of her giant polar bear stuffed animal that’s about the size of her entire person. ‘Cause that’s just how she rolls. And she opened with: “Mama, I came to talk about your sadness.”

Then she began with point number one: “We’ve had frozen pipes before.” I love how this A/C situation and ceiling overflow leak is the equivalent in her mind of our water disaster. She said, “this isn’t even the worst time. That time, it flooded the whole house. And this time, it’s not great, but it’s not terrible.” Valid point my sweet girl, valid point. She told me the ceiling looks a bit ugly, but it could be way worse. Spot on.

Point number two: “This is your 20th anniversary trip. You should be able to enjoy it. I bet when we get there, we’ll have so much fun, you won’t even be thinking about this. Or maybe a little bit, but you’ll be so happy, it won’t matter.” Again…spot on. Couldn’t have said it better.

Point number three (regarding the cost of this repair on top of a crazy expensive trip): “We have lots and lots of money.” To this, I gave a big belly laugh. Out of the mouths of babes, right??? And yet, as I mulled it over, I reminded myself that we are incredibly fortunate to be taking such an amazing trip that many couldn’t afford, and when you think in that context, she’s absolutely correct: we do have a lot of money. To be able to afford a trip—and to trouble-shoot an insanely hefty A/C repair, to boot: it won’t be pretty, but we’ll power through. And for that, we’re beyond fortunate.

And number four (when I told her I was nervous about people being in our house for repairs while we’re away and potentially stealing stuff [again, it wouldn’t be the first, second or third time]): “Well, we’re really spoiled. So if people take our things, it’s okay. Because we have other things.” And then she outlined a plan to hide our most precious items someplace “no robber could ever find them,” and it would all be fine.

My last question to her:

WHEN DID YOU GET TO BE SO WISE???????!!

I mean…honestly. She floored me.

She’s absorbed SO MUCH of conversations the hubby and I have had with one another when we’re reaffirming our blessings and looking at the positive when things feel crappy and unfortunate and we’re low, and she just spewed it all right back to me. But with her own soulful, kid brand of gloriousness.

I kid you not, my tears dried up immediately, I gave her a giant hug, and I was able to power through with my day and the final trip prep of the evening.

Not gonna lie: this is definitely not how I wanted to launch our amazing family trip, and the hubby and I have a lot of logistics to deal with on the way to the airport in about, oh, seven hours (man, I need to go to sleep).

BUT.

We’ll make it though, like we always do. And I’m going to carry my Chicklet morale-boosting mentality with me until we land in Kauai and the ocean air and sand beneath my feet take care of the rest.

The kiddos are insanely happy and we’re so excited about the days to come.

So here’s hoping it’s worth all this insane trip prep!

SO happy about oodles and gobs of family time to come!

Happy Hump Day, peeps.

Over and out.