The Worrier Takes a Vacation

We took our first family vacation this month.  Meaning a trip that did not include staying in a relative’s guest room while simultaneously mooching off their food supply.  Truth be told I was a bit apprehensive that many travel disasters would and could occur.  I am a bit of a worrywart to be honest.  I imagine the worst so that when things go even moderately OK I feel triumphant.  It’s a system my husband cannot understand but one that works well for me.

First, I imagined putting our AAA membership to the test as we battled flat tires or other car snafus along the way.  Never happened.

Then I became “deeply, deeply concerned” with the sleeping situation in the hotel.  The idea of the four of us sharing one room seemed like a recipe for disaster.  How could a toddler, a napping baby and two night owls possibly all become dormant in one four-walled space?  Well, turns out that an amusement park, butterfly garden and Chocolate World equal total baby, toddler and adult exhaustion.  I highly recommend it. 

Next, I fretted about the calamity of losing our three- year-olds’ precious security blanket, dee-dee and her stuffed rabbit, Cuppy.  I recalled all too vividly the ‘Hooples on the Highway’ book from my youth.  Once Lambie, the child’s stuffed toy, was lost, the vacation went off the rails.  So what if Cuppy or dee dee literally went out the window of the hotel or car?  My blood pressure spiked just thinking of it. 

The list goes on and needlessly so too.  Of all the things I became anxious about, I never even thought about the things that actually did happen.

The visit to the Emergency room ten minutes after arriving at our destination so that my eldest’s forehead could be glued back together like Humpty Dumpty.

Losing the baby’s favorite teething toy somewhere inside the vastness that is Hershey Park. 

The hotel room’s bathroom door locking from the inside while we were just beginning our morning routine on the outside. 

My husband actually using the phrase, “Don’t make me pull this car over and go back there!”  Then five minutes later, pulling the car over and “go back there.”

Despite my needless anxiety issues, our first vacation as a family went remarkably well.  Minus the ER visit, we all arrived home happy, safe and exhausted. 

 

Original DC Metro Moms post.  Victoria blogs anxiously on a daily basis at The Mummy Chronicles and Mummy's Product Reviews.