I can't seem to take my children away without some sort of epic story.
I'm pretty sure at this point I should make it clear that I have an array of legendary stories.
As of late, our flight got canceled, and we had to spend another 2 days in Chicago.
But I did what I try to do best...
Rallied and pivoted.
Turned those lemons into lemonade.
To which my adorable cherubs made me regret immediately.
I swear, no good deed goes unpunished.
It's true.
The flight in was effortless, which should have made me suspicious, but no, like a pig in shit, I was excited, and thought my travels to the motherland would be amazing.
And they were.
Until it weren't.
I lost my cool more than once.
Unapologetically.
The stress of traveling with 3 kids alone, immeasurable.
Navigating while parenting, and journeying, the known/ unknown, epically stressful, while coincidentally teaching my kids how to live?
Survive?
Keep their heads on a swivel?
Where is my burial ground again?
At one point we all got in our rental car to find water bottles and a hairbrush.
We didn't drink water, or brush our hair,in the car, WTF!
Holy shit our rental got broken into...
Oh no wait, we had all gotten in the wrong car that LOOKED like ours.
Jesus, take the wheel, literally.
I'm NO genius, CLEARLY.
But we laughed.
Then we may have cried.
But, I want the best for my kids
That is why I do what I do.
Why I lecture.
Why I scold.
Why we TRAVEL.
Try to expose them to different experiences.
Conversely also, why I lose my shit.
But I want heroes.
I want to raise empaths.
Adventurers.
I want kids who can take a twist when it comes to them.
Lord knows life will happen.
And it won't always be pretty or curated.
And I guess I can safely say after this trip, they can roll with the punches.
We walked over three miles yesterday, but they SAW stuff.
And even though they complained, and we may have gotten lost, we laughed, and solidered on.
But...
They experienced this thing called, LIFE.
And hopefully, came to realize, sometimes it's amazing.
And, other times, not so much, and that's OK too.
To roughly quote Ferris Bueller when he tells Cameron, and, as I say to my kids, "this is for my friend who didn't think he saw anything good today."
Stop whining!
I hope they realize that I am trying to give them the world, but I may not be perfect in the process.
So, as I sit in the airport at 4am, and the kids and I share pictures, and find ourselves laughing, and I am reminded that life is good, and that the best things in life may not be free, but they are with me.
They ARE my kids.
They keep me grounded, and humble, and happy.
And sometimes pissed off.
WINK WINK.
And I think that all i want for them is to be reminded that through our highs and lows, that doesn't mean I don't love them, or want them to have the world at their fingertips.
Ironically, actually, that is exactly the reason why I act the way I do.
My mom always said, "it's much easier to be a friend than a parent."
Mom, you were always right.
On that note, God speed and hopefully we return safely!
Here's to another day and another adventure!
Xoxo,
C.
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