Vacation planning

I've lived away from family before. When I was living in Florida the first time, I think we visited up north maybe once, and I had family visit a few times (once for my birthday, and once for each of the kids' christenings). It was hard to be here and not know when I was going to see family again.

Now that I'm down here again, it's incredibly important for me to visit family as often as possible. Not only for me, but for the munchkins.

Puck, Tink and Bug have been as close as siblings for the past couple of years, and now they live in different states. Yes, we'll Skype with Bug so they can talk and see each other, but it's also important for them to actually be in the same room sometimes.

So, even though it's only September, I've been thinking a lot about holiday plans, and when I (and the munchkins) can visit family up north.

The munchkins are with me for part of Puck's winter break from school, so we'll likely go up then. Ever since early spring, Puck has been talking about snow. The poor kid has been dying for a snowman since, like, February. And since Florida isn't really known for its snow, we'll be headed to Illinois instead.

I was talking to my dad on the phone recently, and he pointed out that even though it'll be hard to be away now that I live in Florida, it will be great when I visit because it'll be kind of a big deal (especially when I have the munchkins with me). We'll be happy to see everyone, and they'll be happy to see us.

I'm looking forward to going up during the holidays this year. It will be good to see everyone, to spend time with family, and to get away from routine for a while.

Let's just hope I can be patient until then.