Friday, July 11, 2014

We Survived!

We (I) survived the past 72 hours, which had nothing to do with my perfectly planned trip. Tuesday morning a stomach bug took two kids down (for maybe three hours) and took me for what I was sure my last day on earth. I lost an entire day of packing, prepping and completing various projects! I woke up Wednesday in a fog realizing that I had very little time to get everything ready for our launch on Thursday!

5:00 am on Thursday came very early and I finally got us off at 6:45 am. Let's be honest - all of the enthusiasm, excitement and inner strength I had on Monday was a distant memory. I was feeling a bit defeated before I even drove out of the driveway. The good news...my strength and commitment for this trip grew stronger with every mile we drove and we drove a LONG way!

We made it to Montgomery, AL and the stretch from Mobile to Montgomery on I65 North was so beautiful and peaceful. God gave me a great lesson this week. He simply reminded me that life is not perfect, there will be days that don't follow my plan, and I'm traveling with 4 children that each have their own definition of fun. He also reminded me that if I lean on him, show patience, forgiveness and kindness the day will end with great memories and a smile.

Last night we went swimming at 10pm under the full moon and cool breeze. (Yes, I let my children stay up late when they have been a hostage in a car for the past 10 hours).  We laughed and ate pizza and went to bed ready for what lies ahead...

Tip for Day 1:
So how does one survive 9 1/2 hours on the road with 4 kids?
I find money talks...I made it quite clear before we left home that for every complaint during the ride to Montgomery I would deduct $1 from their spending money. I only collected $5 ($3 of which was my own fine for complaints...you have to practice what you preach and they called me on it!) Also, I completely got over my fear of my children going deaf from headphones and drove in a completely silent car. It was like driving while meditating. Silence is a pure luxury in my house!

Sneak Peak into our plan for Today - Today is all about Civil Rights!  Rosa Parks Museum, Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church....How far do you think we will get?

2 comments:

  1. Enjoy your time with your family! As mother of 4 boys, we traveled many times back East to visit family. It takes patience, planning and lots of love, I treasure the memories from those trips- good, bad and funny. God bless you in your travels.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Be safe and have fun! I look forward to reading about your travels and adventures!

    ReplyDelete