In Which Amy Talks about Traveling for the Holiday... (Part 1) (Myspace Blog)

So, this is part 1 of my holiday extravaganza! No... there is no part 2 yet... because part 2 hasn't happened yet. It will, starting tomorrow morning, when kids scream and throw themselves on presents... yeah.. you know how xmas morning looks.

So, the original plan was for me to leave on Yule... AFTER a circle with my coven. I was going to take laundry and other things, drop mi hija with her father, and pack at my moms' house. Circle at 7... plenty of time. Right? Right...

I don't actually make it to the circle. I don't actually make it to mi hijas fathers' house until 10... and my moms' until 11. Then laundry... 2 loads that won't dry. We are supposed to leave at 5 am... at 4 am I am dozing on the couch trying desperately to finish the laundry so I can pack, eyes red rimmed and tired... and 6 shots of Baileys Irish Cream in me. (Mom did it...I walk in and she says 'Have some!' and how the hell am I supposed to say no to that? Just because she went to bed and left me to drink them alone means nothing, I swear...) My lips were nice and numb.

Eventually laundry gets done and I shower and there is only time to rush rush rush and weren't we supposed to leave at 5? Maybe... but we ACTUALLY leave at 6:30... after I am told that 2 suitcases is too many and am forced to shove all my stuff into 1. Tight squeeze, but my nephew sits on it and we manage.

The plan is to make it to Dallas to pick up sister 3, see brother 2 and sister in law on day 1 (9 hours), then drive overnight into Georgia on day 2 (12 hours). Somehow, it doesn't seem to work that way.

Day 1 -So we leave, and it is fun, and exciting, and I am looking out the window... and by mile 250 I am wishing that I had brought my charcoals and a sketch pad (note to self: never go on a trip without your charcoals and a sketch pad!) and by mile 350 I am bored. We watch 1/2 of the movie Serenity before Amy gets sick. Like turning green sick. Pull over and puke sick. Ihatecars sick. We stop for lunch. Amy does not get to finish the movie, which upsets her, because she really really wants to. We finally get into Dallas 12 hours later. I wont detail the rest of that day, as it involved lots of laughing at Amy for being sick, and lots of Amy trying /not/ to be sick. Seeing brother and sister in law was so fun and perfect... and makes me miss them even more.

Day 2 - I drive in the early hours of the morning for a bit. Fun.. but it is dark and the road feels like it is coming out of nowhere, there is fog that falls from the sky, and the trees are dark and creepy at the side of the road. I can't think about it too hard without scaring myself. BUT - I go through 3 new states... Louisiana, and Mississippi, and Alabama. I seem to have an ongoing love affair with a restuarant called 'The Waffle House'. I see them every 2 miles or so.... the are following me in the dark. Really. Then breakfast time (not at Waffle House... they are stalking me...) and I'm done with my stint of driving.

Next Sister 3 drives.... and I get so so sick. She drives like she has to in Dallas... aggressive, quick movements that jerk us across lanes. No that this is bad... but I spend the rest of the trip asleep in a desperate attempt to avoid having to pull over to puke. I wake, she changes lanes, I turn green and promptly fall back asleep. My music is pounding in my ears to try to cover sounds of conversation that might keep me concious. Everytime I wake I groan and ask where we are... the car turns a corner, I groan again and turn green and fall back asleep. My nephew thinks this is the most amusing thing ever.

After getting lost, we make it to Georgia and the hotel by 1... (17 hours). They have a treadmill! yay! And I run a mile to make up for the fact that I have sat on my tush for the last 31 hours. A mile is all I can do... I am dragging so. I meet 1 nephew that I hadn't before, saw one that I hadn't seen since he was two, and hugged sisters that I haven't seen since mi hijo was an infant. Dinner at family's house and I am beat beat beat by 8. We get back to the hotel and I am asleep before my mom stops talking.

Wake next morning for breakfast, and go for a run with said nephew, who is 15 and thinks that all people should have the energy and stamina to run like him. I am dragging... so tired that I can't think. Plus I'm old. Which means he teases me about being slow and not keeping up. I think we managed a mile before I was stick-a-fork-in-me done. Everyone else went to go shopping... all I want is a nap. So I go to sleep... and my sisters have to go to the front desk to get a key because I do not wake up to answer the door. or the phone. or the hollering outside the window. I dont actually wake until my nephew is tickling my feet. (which I hate)

Then the afternoon with family and kids is spent playing and cooking and making candy and my baby sister gets there! and /all/ of the girls are in the same place so lets take pictures! and wrap presents and talktalktalk and hide and seek in the dark, but I am too scared to play long because it is so DARK! And there are monsters... BUT I now know what poison ivy looks like.

So, tonight Santa comes to Georgia. Amy wakes early... and part two begins.

Happy Holidays!

I miss my babies!