Debbie Downer Donner Party

We are planning a cross country trip with the kids for this summer.  We have talked about doing this for years. My husband's family and we live on opposite coasts.  Airfare times five is quite expensive, plus we have to rent a vehicle once we get there. A family wedding forced us to revisit this idea of driving. We discussed it at length, and decided to make a go of it this summer.  My husband has enough vacation time.  I'm not working or going to school this summer. The kids are big enough to amuse themselves with electronics.  We bought a newer minivan, with just 30,000 miles, as opposed to the old one that had 130,000 miles on it. We kind of feel like it is now or never.

We have done longer trips with our kids, but this would certainly be the longest yet.  We drove to Virginia when they were infants, and we managed.  On that trip, we had to actually stop and take them out of their car seats to feed them rather than just throw apples and goldfish into the back seat.  (Though having kids in diapers may cut down on bathroom stops, or would if I had any bladder control left after giving birth to twins.)

There are those that think we are crazy, and maybe we are a little bit. My mother keeps trying to talk us out of it.  She offered to take my kids on the plane with her while my husband and I drove out. She obviously wasn't getting the point about family togetherness and creating memories.  She offered to stay home, missing the wedding herself, and let me and my husband fly, failing to consider the fact that their other set of grandparents may actually want to see my kids.

I think that she thinks it is 1846, and that we may all die of dysentery as we make the trek westward.  I know stuff happens, but armed with cell phones and AAA, I think we can handle most things that come up.

She warned of it being tornado season in the midwest.   I reminded her of the fact that a tornado touched down a couple of weeks ago not 30 miles from where we lived.  The fickle finger of fate may just as likely land a tornado on my minivan as I drive my kids to Little League than when we traverse the Great Plains.

She warned of entire areas of the country with no people, and no where to stop, and no cell reception, and no gas.  Didn't you see Tremors?!

I had to promise her I would call or text every hour or so.  I just hope that snake monsters don't snap the axle on our new mivan.