Skip to main content

On one hand...

We're ending day 6 of a 7-day family/friends tour of Missouri. There are alot of paradoxical elements to family visits.

On one hand it's great to visit and kind of relax, but on the other hand, we're ready to be home and in our own space.

On one hand it's nice to get away, spend time in the car together, and listen to some good books on CD, but on the other hand, after quite a bit of time, it'll be nice to not have a trip over 15 minutes for the next week or so. To recap...Weds: Our home to my parents'--5 1/2 hours. Thurs and Fri: No driving!! Saturday: My parents' to friends in Columbia-- 2 1/2 hours, then friends to M's parents' place--2 hours. Making a triangle in East Central Missouri...priceless. Tomorrow we'll go 35 minutes to Children's, whole day of visits, same trip back here, then 3 hours home.

On one hand it's nice to let the hosts do their thing, but on the other hand, we tend to like things our own way.

On one hand it's great that Braska will sleep well in a Pack N Play if it's quiet and dark, but on the other hand those conditions are not always easy to come by, sometimes downright impossible.

On one hand it's nice to catch up with family, but on the other hand, sometimes you wish you were still out of date and blissfully in the dark.

On one hand it's great to have lots of food around and goodies a'plenty, but on the other hand, I'm gonna have to put in some serious treadmill time to make up for that a'plenty.

On one hand it's nice to just have the four of us (me, M, Braska, and Belle) as a little family capsule moving around together visiting, away from some distractions, but on the other hand...ok, I got nothing on that one. I just plain like it. My husband would probably have something to add there, though.

On one hand we like the fun, games, goofiness, teasing, and playful spirit of lots of family, but on the other hand, we really like quiet.

On one hand we're very appreciative for our parents for contributing to who we are, but on the other hand, sometimes it's so very painful to watch them and see glimpses of ourselves in situations, conversations, and attitudes. On one hand that's no fun, but on the other hand, we always come home with new resolve not to repeat or carry on certain traits. It happens with both sides. Some things are funny as we elbow each other and smile, and some are just hard to watch. We talk about how we don't want that attitude, that "gene," or that social tick. And we ask, can we overcome? The cool thing is that we're succeeding in many ways. Hopefully, Braska will have a shorter list of things to overcome. All we can aim for is improvement.

On one hand we love to spend time with our families, but on the other hand we try hard not to make it alot of time. Everyone comes out better that way.

All in all, it's been a pretty good visit. Better than many. I call it a successful trip.
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 26, 2007 at 11:30 PM

    All I can say is it's a good thing you have two hands, or everything would be "on the one hand..." :o)

    It was nice to have you all here. Wish we had played some cards! The time just went by too fast.

    ReplyDelete
  2. SunflowerStoriesNovember 26, 2007 at 11:41 PM

    I think you summed up family visits perfectly! We always go into our trips with a sense of "yay, it'll be great to..." and come home with "so glad that's done!"

    ReplyDelete
  3. TomNovember 27, 2007 at 8:23 AM

    Ah, yes, the family visit. Pain and happiness and anger and joy all wrapped up tighter than a burrito. Although it doesn't taste quite the same.

    Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JenniferNovember 27, 2007 at 9:37 AM

    Glad it went well - I can totally relate! I'm glad you had some good family time with the 4 of you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Shannon @ Gabi's WorldNovember 28, 2007 at 11:57 AM

    All that getting away can make you appreciate being home, can't it?

    ReplyDelete
  6. RKNovember 28, 2007 at 9:22 PM

    Mom--I'm glad I have two hands too.

    Sunflower--I thought I'd be more glad to be home, but now I have to cook again.

    Tom--A VERY tight burrito, it is.

    Jennifer--Family of 4 :o)

    Shannon--True, I do thank goodness for my own bed!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for commenting!! I only ask that we all keep it positive, respectful, and clean. Comment moderation is on for now. (As this is my blog, I reserve the right to delete any comment I deem inappropriate for any reason.) If you use the anonymous option, be sure to sign your name. Thanks!!

Make it a great day!!

Popular posts from this blog

31 for 21: What to say

I have encountered plenty of people who ask "How old is she?" when Braska and I are out together here and there. They always guess her age about 5 months younger than she is, but that's ok, since that's what size she is. I have said several times that I can imagine it will bother me a bit more, although still not a huge deal, when she turns one next month and I see their reaction to that, as she still is in her car seat/carrier when we're in a restaurant or in a store since she doesn't sit up. Today, I met some friends for brunch. The waitress was a nice enough, very young girl, and she started cooing at Braska right away. That's nice. I don't mind, Braska likes the attention, and I'm proud of my cutie. The waitress asked her age, and I told her 11 months. She then said, "But she's not walking yet?" as she noticed that she was up to the table in her car seat/carrier. I just agreed and said, "Not yet." She said she h...
11 comments
Read more

Can I get a do-over?

If you are in need of a laugh at another's expense, I invite you to read on... really, it's totally ok. I can take it. This might end up long, but I wanna remember this special day. Oh so special... Today is my first day to have both girls and be on my own. Yeah, it's been two weeks, but I'm apparently slow at learning how to deal with this kind of thing. I knew it would be a challenge, but I thought with starting way early, we could make it. The quick ending is that we did make it...but that's not really the whole story. Kinlee's been sleeping til about 9 am or so after getting up twice in the night. That's ok, I'm dealing with it. But since Braska is supposed to be at school at 10 am on Mondays, I thought I better not sleep in like I prefer, and instead, I should get up and get things moving earlier to be sure we're on time. Not a problem, since Braska decided to be up twice last night in addition to Kinlee's two times. One time overlapped...so...
25 comments
Read more

Little call, big letters

This will make more sense to you DS moms and families out there... I apologize for the cryptic nature, but you'll have to trust my reasoning. Braska had a lab draw on Tuesday last week. The GI called me Wednesday and said there were some significantly elevated levels in the results. Ok fine. Not like we've never had an abnormal lab. But then he used *those* words...the C word and the L word. Said he'd be talking to hem/onc. We needed to go redraw on Friday morning. We didn't freak or anything, but when I hung up the phone, I thought, "Wow, so that's what it's like the first time they mention it." We took her for her draw again on Friday morning, and we figured everything was fine since we got no call over the weekend. Yesterday I checked in with them. Dr. R confirmed that everything was clear, almost in a "weird way," but they checked with the lab to make sure it was a viable result. All is well. Follow up in 6 months as usual unle...
17 comments
Read more