We really never go away - on long trips, on short trips, on any vacations at all. And this, my friends, is why:
Were we taking a cross-country trip? Nope!
Were we fleeing New Jersey for a better life? No, again!
We were going away for the weekend. One night. We would be gone for not more than 30 hours and had any of our neighbors been watching Josh make no fewer than eight trips to the car to pack it up, they might have thought that we had no intention of returning this year, if ever.
So we did, and surprisingly, we got there.
So why did we go? Josh's school - teachers, students, everyone - goes away for one weekend each year, and every year since Josh started working there I have avoided this by either being pregnant or having a newborn. And this year, much to my mother's relief, I am neither and so this weekend had my name written all over it.
Will we be going away again in the near future? Most likely not - not because going away would mean I would have to pack again, but more because unpacking and I don't get along. Also because, and I cannot confirm this, but if we ever come back to that hotel, we will most likely find our pictures hanging on the wall. When they recognize us, we will be promptly escorted off the premises. Why, you ask? Because after our time there, our lovely adjoining rooms named 702 and 703 (but more 703) will never be the same. Fruit Loops and brownies were ground into the carpet, furniture was stacked, the plastic covers on the little Hunt's Chocolate Puddings were shoved down radiators and we are not quite sure where the receiver is from the phone in 703. We are not celebrities ransacking a room. This is somewhat normal behavior in a home filled with many young children. However, said behavior is not so normal in a hotel. And that my friends, is the real reason we don't go away. In our house, we have radiator covers and cordless phones so things like this don't happen.
It was an experience, one that I am not looking to repeat again that fast. But in the end, I will admit, fun was had by all.