So we are going to Disneyland. Me, Greg, Illa, Wesley and my best friend Jessica are all scooting along the freeway on our way.
It’s been hell trying to get everything ready for us to go. I won’t sugar coat it. Everyday leading up to us leaving was filled with crossing things off a ridiculous to-do list. But I did it !
Things were going pretty smooth till yesterday. That’s when things started to go shall we say, downhill? The morning started good enough, I got breakfast made and then cleaned the kitchen, checked my school work, meal prepped for our dinners down there (have Intant pot will travel, yo), cleaned out the car, ran to Costco, got gas, did laundry , helped greg put the roof rack thing on and generally kept picking the house up.
All the while I kept checking tracking on some awesome custom shirts I’d had made for our trip. Every time I checked, it kept saying it was out for delivery .. well the post lady came and went and it still wasn’t there. I was starting to panick.. what the hell where we gonna wear now?!
Instead of dwelling on the negative I decided it was time to do the scavenger hunt. I had planned out a scavenger hunt to let the kids knowthat we were going to Disneyland. That idea went up in flames. Illa was excited Wesley was not. We had clues all over the house that would lead them to the final clue that was taped to the bathroom mirror. Illa excitedly ran from room to room following each clue and getting more excited by the minute. Wes decided his time was better spent complaining on the stairs about how lame it was and that we should ” just go to the arcade”.
When we finally got to the final clue, Illa was tired of Wesley’s attitude and quite frankly so was I but he agreed to go check out the final clue with us. They argued over who got to open the letter because, why not? And when they finally opened it Illa got it pretty quick and was SUPER EXCITED.. Wesley not so much.
He got mad at Illa for screaming from excitement and smacked her which made her cry.. at that point everybody went to their rooms to cry, myself included. STRIKE 1
I had been planning that for WEEKS. I saw it going so differently in my head but I guess that’s life with kids. I checked to make sure illa was ok and then made dinner and at that point it was time to pack.
I kept checking the tracking but it still hadn’t budged. I even tried to make an account and change the delivery address but no luck. I finally just accepted that the shirts weren’t gonna happen and got all of our bags packed. STRIKE 2
I was excited to debut the “landmark bags” I had assembled. Basically it is six different bags that were filled with different things and they had tags for us to open at certain times. Examples ” open after first stop for gas” and ” open when we pass St. George ” I put an assortment of treats, coloring books, movies, stuffed animals and books for them to open along the way. The first bag was treats and a new movie ( The Incredibles 1 & 2 ) I totally didn’t realize when I bought them that they were blu-ray… the DVD player in my car is not. STRIKE 3
The next few bags went over the same but I finally struck gold with some road trip kits I put together with my Thirty-one Get Creative Zipper pouch. I filled them with large crayons, stamps, stickers and a notebook that had a puppy one it. Wesley thought it was the best thing ever!
Oh and while we were driving I finally got notification that the dang shirts had been delivered…*sigh*
I switched Greg out at the big A Chevron so I could rest my eyes for 5 and also do something really crazy for me.
It may come as a shock to some but I really struggle asking for help. I’m getting better, but I still struggle. I don’t want to “put people out” I know everyone is busy and has their own lives so I would just rather do it all myself . So while greg was driving I reached out to my friend who was watching the dogs and asked if there was anyway she could take the dang box on Monday and have it shipped to the hotel by Wednesday. That way we’d have our shirts for the majority of our days at Disneyland.
This friend of course said “YES! I’ll help!” And got them shipped off on Monday and they arrived Wednesday without a hitch! Thank you UPS! We were like I said able to wear our shirts for the majority of the days and I was so very happy I reached out. Thanks friend!!
I guess my point/take away from all this is 2 fold. 1- I need to not build things up in my head.. they are going to go how they are and I’m working with other humans who have their own outlook and reactions to things and 2- it’s ok to reach out and have others help you. You’d do the same thing so don’t assume everyone is too busy to help.
Go out there and help others like my friend did, show the world (and fiercely independent suckers like myself) that it’s ok and that we won’t die if we ask for help!
Till next time!
~ Laura
Life, Party of 4 