Trying to be flexible

Sometimes, when taking 3 children on a cross country trip to visit the grandparents for Christmas, things go wrong. Sometimes 428 things go wrong.

The plan was to leave early this morning. Like, 6am early. I have Netflixed new DVDs for the kids ready to go. Laundry is done and packed. Sandwiches are made, bottles cleaned and filled. I have my “bag of tricks” all packed with little surprises for the kids on the trip like: fresh boxes of crayons, new coloring books, new race cars, etc. for me to disperse as needed during the 2-day 30 hour long journey.

But, like all plans, there are adjustments. Yesterday, I had a routine doctor’s appointment for an ultrasound on an ovarian cyst I have that is slightly abnormal. I get ovarian cysts quite often, so they don’t scare or concern me, but as they checked it last month, this one was not clear like the other ones, and my doctor felt like we should keep our eye on this one. Convinced the cyst was gone, I went in just to double check, and to make my doctor feel better.

Shockingly, the cyst was not gone like I had expected, but in fact had grown to the size of a grapefruit. At this point, the doctor discussed with me the possibility of having surgery to remove it. I asked what we should do about our trip this morning, and he said it was up to me whether to wait until we get back to do the surgery, as it wasn’t an emergency situation…yet. Knowing I am from Phoenix, he did mention that having the surgery in Phoenix was a reasonable option, if I had a doctor down there that I trusted.

Since I have a stash of people in the medical field in Phoenix, I made a few phone calls, and everyone agreed that it could easily be done down there, and even better, I’d be with my mom who could help me recover.

Crisis averted. The trip was still on.

Knut, however, found more obstacles. While he normally checks our van for full fluids etc. a few days before a trip, nothing about this fall has been normal. With the combines just cooling off, he got his first shot at checking our van last night for the trip. What he found was a leaky radiator. Calling every mechanic he knew, he found one who would take a look at it. It was supposed to be fixed by 10am this morning, but like all things, the fix was more than he had thought, and now it might be this afternoon.

One thing has gone right, that Knut’s sister and brother-in-law have graciously offered us their van for the trip as an option that we are strongly considering.

As Knut is in town, getting whatever vehicle we’ll use ready to go, we’re here at home in that lovely state of limbo. More like purgatory, but hey, whatever. The bags are packed and sitting by the door. The cooler has been packed and unpacked a few times. I’ve decided not to pack it again until I see a van in my driveway. I was initially trying to keep the kids awake during nap time, but as the trip is delayed, I finally let Elias go down for his morning nap just before 1pm. The other kids sometimes skip their afternoon nap, so I’m just letting them stay up until we go.

At least…that’s the plan.

With the time lost today, we are strongly considering rotating driving through the night so we can just get there. I’m not looking forward to that, but imagining my mom’s arms around me keep me going. Plus, there’s a storm coming, and we really need to get out of here before it dumps who knows how much snow on the road. The kids have been going wild in anticipation of the road trip that was supposed to be early this morning, and then late this morning, and now this afternoon. My thin upbeat attitude (more like laughing all day because it’s easier than crying) is close to breaking, and we’re not even on the road yet.

Perhaps I should have picked up some more DVDs for the kids.

If we make it, though, my next post will be from sunny AZ, once we have regained consciousness.

That’s the plan…for now.

Why do I have the feeling this trip will be added to the list of “stupid things we did when we were young” ?