i remember vacation.

In my past life, I looked forward to vacation.  Road trips, baseball trips, road trips that were baseball trips, whatever we were doing, I knew it would be fun.  Now, not so much.  I know I've complained before about how much work vacations are with a kid but I found a way to make things even more complicated.  This week I'm working full-time while preparing us for two separate vacations.  Henry is leaving on Thursday night for a trip with his dad, which means I have to have more stuff than usual washed and packed and ready to go by the time his dad picks him up at 5 p.m.  I will be up late tonight finishing laundry and checking items off his list.  The good thing is that his dad sent me a detailed list of what he wants for Henry.  He sent it early enough that I was able to go through the list and shop for the stuff he didn't have over the weekend.

And then this happened...

Let's go back to a couple weeks ago when Henry was going through a growth spurt.  I knew this was happening because he ate everything.  And then he asked for more. And then oh, hey, can he have some more?  On Monday I put his sandals on him and his toes almost hung over the edge.  I swear they fit just fine on Sunday.  Last night I set out to find him new sandals.  Have you ever shopped for sandals on August 19?  Slim pickins' my friend, slim pickins'.  So slim I wrote it twice.  I finally resigned myself to buying the Keens that were on sale for $35.  I decided I would buy them a size too big so he could wear them longer.  I wasn't completely happy with this plan because who spends $35 on shoes for an almost-four-year-old?? But it would have to do because the boy has to have sandals for his trip.  Then the salesperson returned with the news that they had no sandals left in the sizes I requested.  None.  Not even girlie sandals.  Sigh.  I tried one last store and as I was looking at the completely disorganized sandal area, a ray of light shot out of the sky and shone upon one pair of shark sandals in my son's new size.  I swear I heard the angels singing but it could have been me squealing with excitement.  They were marked down to $19.99 but at that point, I didn't really care how much they cost.  They were his size and the box had one left sandal and one right sandal and they were going home with me.  When the cashier rung them up (I know things aren't rung up anymore, do I say they are scanned?), the total was $10.59.  I almost cried. 

Oh, his old sandals were the same size and brand as his sneakers so I knew that his sneakers were probably getting pretty snug as well.  Luckily, a few months ago I snagged a great deal on a pair of Stride Rite sneakers so he is all set there.  I remember the first time I shopped at a Stride Rite store.  And by "shopped," I mean, "walked in, saw the price tag on one pair of baby shoes and walked right back out."  Anyway, the only problem with this pair of shoes is that they look huge on him because the base of them is pretty wide.  I'm sure he's going to trip a time or twenty.  The other problem is that they have flames on them which to Henry means he has to run fast all the time.  Yikes. 

Okay so back to this whole vacation thing.  While Henry is gone with his dad I am going on a quick trip to visit a friend.  So I'm also trying to get everything ready for my own trip.  I'm more concerned about Henry being all set so I'm pretty much making lists of shit I have to do before I leave on Friday.  Which means I will also be up all night on Thursday night.  At least I will be able to actually go to the store in the middle of the night if I have to since Henry will be with his dad. 

I thought going on this trip while Henry is gone would be a good idea.  I thought it would help keep my mind off of missing him and worrying about him and wanting him home.  Instead, it has led to a whole new level of anxiety.  The good thing about being so busy is that I have moments when I'm not freaking out about him leaving and me leaving and about all the things that can go wrong and what if we never see one another again oh my god!  Seriously.  My brain knows these thoughts are ridiculous and we will both be fine but some of my brain is pretty sure we are all going to die this weekend. 

Yay, vacation!