Wednesday, August 05, 2009

What kind of husband would do that??


We are on vacation right now, visiting AJ's family in Denver. (I love Denver. I hope to someday reside here. I have the neighborhood all picked out.) Because of all sorts of work issues and other travelling that we are doing, we had a heck of a time deciding on dates and transportation.

Finally, we settled on driving. For the most part. Except it seemed that driving long long distances with a 17 month old could be very ugly.

So, AJ suggested that he drive from Minnesota to Denver with T and MJ and I fly with baby Z. I kept asking him if he was sure that he wanted to take the two of them (prone to sibling spats, and in a concentrated space like the car?? That could be hell). And if he felt comfortable driving all that way himself. He said it would be great. They would have a wonderful time. It would be so easy with just the two of them, so I said, "Sign me up!"

In addition to my enjoyment of a direct flight vs. spending parts of two days in the car driving through Iowa and Nebraska, one of the unexpected side benefits was that I got to clean the house after AJ and the kids drove out of town. Getting ready for vacation can be frantic and crazy and since we usually procrastinate, it's only that much worse. Usually, it's all I can do to turn off the AC and lock the doors. Just forget about leaving the house completely tidied. More so, it looks like a tornado has barrelled through the house, with clothes and empty bags and random stuff strewn everywhere.

After they left, I took baby Z and we went for a walk around the lake close to our house. They, I ran to the mall for our last few errands. And picked up some yummy sushi for my dinner. Then it was home to bathe Z and put him to bed. Next, dinner and some Jon Stewart for me. And next? I was excited to clean my house. I spent a long time Friday night getting the house together.

And now that I'm on vacation, the specter of a messy house isn't hanging over my head, casting shadows over down time that would only get bigger the closer we get to going home.

8 comments:

Maryanne said...

That sounds wonderful! And do tell about the Denver neighborhood you have all picked out. We have some Brooklyn friends there, and Jared wants to consider the area.

Brooke said...

AJ. Is. Awesome. That's all I gotta say.

Belle said...

Maryanne, It's Stapleton, where the old airport used to be--it is a urban revitalization project, the housing is new, it's close to downtown, and it's all integrated with commercial properties. Yards are small (which we like) but there are lots of community areas. Andy is signing up lots of friends for their monthly newspaper to try to recruit them. We surf the real estate ads there when we're tired of the vanilla suburbs.

Maryanne said...

I've read about that-- it sounds really cool!

andalucy said...

sign me up for stapleton

Belle said...

Lucy,

What are the taxes like in Stapleton? The other great thing about this area--they are just starting up an immersion school. MJ's grade wouldn't be included, but Bella's would!

Belle said...

I meant to say, Lucy, what are the taxes like in Colorado?

andalucy said...

Colorado was one of the lower tax, favorable to small business states according to J. We like Boulder, but I saw the Stapleton site and it looks like a great place. J is down on it though because it doesn't have mature trees.