We are going on holiday soon!
Back in the day, TheBloke (TM) and I would pile some fresh underwear in an overnight bag and disappear for a few days of sun, sea and sleeping late.
These days I literally have a project plan to get our family safely from our home to the airport, then on to our final destination without major incident. We have had to hire an 8-seater taxi just to get us and our related detritus to the airport.
The list is never-ending: car seats, nappies, swim nappies, baby food, baby monitor, travel adapters (six million because everything useful we own seems to need charging), plus passports, driving licences, tickets for various booked excursions, medicines just in case, helpfully decanted into tiny, tiny bottles, should an illness strike whilst en route. Then entertainment for the journey. Too much junk food, too many electronic gadgets. Anything we can do to subdue and baffle a four year-old and a 14 month-old into acquiescence for nine hours (count them) in the air.
Fresh underwear is the last thing on my list, and very honestly the thing I’d care least about forgetting.
Of course, the nine hours is nothing in and of itself – it’s the two hour cab ride at 6.30 a.m., the two hours required to be at the airport before check-in, and then waiting for the car hire at the airport with two children – one of whom has missed both naps and four hours of her regular sleep. And that’s assuming no delays.
Assuming we actually manage to arrive at our accommodation without some sort of mental health episode and/or divorce proceedings starting (never travel without the name of a good lawyer), we then have jetlag to contend with. This means that the children will likely flake out early afternoon, and then wake up at 4 a.m. more full of beans than a tin of Heinz and insist you play some ridiculous game, where they won’t tell you the rules, only that you’re DOING IT WRONG.
Also, during all this DON’T FORGET TO HAVE FUN.
See you on the other side! (Of a nervous breakdown)
