To Vacation or Not...

On Saturday night, we returned home from a one week vacation with my mom, sister, grandfather and "The Bizzy Beemans." We were in Orlando, where the palm trees sway and the sun is always out. The entire week before, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off to make sure I had everything I needed to get two young children boarded on a plane and entertained not only for the duration of the flight but also for an entire week! Blankets, snacks, sippy cups, bottles, pacifiers, toys, coloring books...you get the idea! I also am a freak at wanting to make sure my house is clean before I leave so I can come home to a clean home and don't have to worry about doing anything other than unpack. So that added to my chaos for the week. At one point, I wondered to myself if this vacation I had been counting down the days to would really be worth all mess. I remember telling Brad that I won't relax until I'm in the car headed to his dad's to spend the night before leaving early the next morning to head to the airport.
I must say....BOY WAS I WRONG! The next day, we boarded the plane for Mickey's hometown and I knew immediately it was going to be a long 2 hours. Carson fought me all but 30 minutes of the trip as he wanted to be down walking around and that wasn't possible. Once we arrived, I was ready to call it a day.
The week would have gone perfectly if Carson's molars had not decided to arrive during our time there...yes, for all you mom's out there, three out of four of his molars broke through last week. AAAHHHH! The weather was absolutely gorgeous, sunny and 80 during the day and then cool but pleasant in the evening. So despite the lack of sleep I got due to Carson not being able to sleep, the trip was a hit! Brad and I had our 6 year wedding anniversary while we were there so that will be a memorable trip.
As we were getting ready to leave, Brad asked me if I was ready to go. My answer to him was obviously no. I had just spent a week with around the clock childcare assistance and even got some quality time to myself. Do I want to leave and take on the mommy role full time again??? Of course not!
When we landed in Indianapolis, the weather was cold and cloudy, it was then that Brad looked at me and asked the exact question I had just asked myself...he said, "Do you ever wonder why we live here after spending time in a place where the weather is beautiful all the time?" I told him that I think about it everytime I finish another trip to my parent's condo but this is what I've come up with......

Home is not just the walls that you live within. Home is where your family and friends are, it's where you feel loved and appreciated and it's where you can be yourself. While my vacation was wonderful and I even admit I could have easily spent another week there, it felt good to take my things out of my bag and be settled back into the comforts of home! And I also decided that it's worth all the chaos to take a vacation and I will do it again without any question!

If you'd like to see pictures from our trip, check out our website at www.beemanfamily.myphotoalbum.com