Home, James (Reflections on Our Trip)

I had some ideas of taking a fun new route back from Illinois to Arizona, but was outvoted by the majority, who just wanted to be home. We drove directly to Tulsa the first night, a very long drive.

The next night we just drove and drove and arrived home around 2:00 in the morning. Now that may sound HORRIBLE, but it we decided it was better than hauling all those bags in and out of a hotel one more time. Plus, it was going to be close to 110 degrees the next day in Phoenix, and we figured we'd rather unload the 600+ pounds of you-know-what in the middle of the night when it was only 90 degrees, rather than in the sun the next day.

When we pulled in, and were overwhelmed with that homey feeling you get when you arrive in your own driveway, we were so glad to have driven through the night. We unlocked the doors, turned the water heater back on, plugged things in and reset the thermostats. The kids woke up and were in great spirits to be back home. Everyone helped unload the car quickly and happily. Jackson, who was turning 16 months the next day, had no memory of his room or toys, and felt that he had arrived on Christmas Day to a giant play-center just for him.

By the time we had unloaded, turned things on and off, and finally gotten the happy kids to bed, it was 4:00 AM on Wednesday, August 3. We hadn't been in our own beds in 44 days.

While it did take a little time to unpack and get settled back in, we were in high spirits. The road trip this summer will always be a highlight for us in our family life. It was amazing. It was also amazing to be spread out throughout an entire house and to have different activities during the day, rather than being in a tiny square footage of space together 24 hours a day, as we had done for almost 7 weeks.

Was it a crazy idea? Definitely. Did it drive us crazy? Absolutely. Did it bring our family together in an unreplicatable fashion? For sure. Could we have packed more fun and learning into a summer any other way? Impossible. Are the kids still talking about it? You know it. Are we glad we did it? 100%. Would we do it again tomorrow? Well.....maybe not tomorrow.....