Rite of Passage

This past week I did something that I quite honestly never believed I would attempt to do. I visited my brother, sister and nieces. (They're my in-laws but I'm dropping the 'in-law' bit. Cuz, let's face it, they're just too cool for the 'in-law' title.) They live in a far away land riddled with dangers and adventure. Okay. So maybe that's a bit of a stretch. Unless of course, a four hour trip where the roads have four lanes and lots of busy traffic is considered dangerous. To me though, traffic is the enemy. I dread driving in the city and avoid it like the plague. I also have zero sense of direction and could easily get lost on a one way road that leads to only one destination. I'm hopeless when it comes to driving and finding my way. It took me at least a year to get used to driving from home to college without panicking that I was going in the wrong direction. BUT, back then there weren't handy dandy GPS machines to get you where you're going. And Mandy just happens to have one of those handy machines. So about two weeks ago, Heather invited me and the kids to visit for a week to pass the time while Josh is out of town. I'll be the first to admit that I was about 99% sure that this would not happen. The moment I even gave it a millisecond of consideration, my stomach flipped and my heart raced at the idea of driving a four hour trip by myself. Oh, I've been there before so in theory it shouldn't be a problem. But Josh was always the driver and I was the 'kid entertainer'. So I convinced myself I wouldn't do it after about three minutes of considering it. Then Alex and Abby got bored...again. So I picked up the phone to call Heather and tell her that I'd do it. I'd make the trek alone. It became my new goal. I wanted to be able to make this drive and visit Heather, Ben and the girls. (I took a lot of Tums the week before going.) So after the use of Mandy's GPS, a map from Josh, a map from Heather and a whole of nerve, I set out on my first long trip with the kids. I'm not gonna lie. It was the most nerve wracking, scariest, insane trip I've ever taken. Did I get lost? Yup. Road construction screwed up the GPS and I ended up driving around a town on the verge of hyperventilating for about ten minutes before finding my way again. Did I make it alive and well? Yup. I had to pry my kung-fu grip from the steering wheel and peel my body from the sweaty car seat like a burned pancake...but I made it alive and well. It was totally worth the panic and worry because the kids had a blast and I had a great time too thanks to my gracious hosts. When my mom asked my why I didn't just stay home if it made me so nervous, I told her it was my rite of passage. I had to prove to myself that I could do this. Call it weird. Call it Silly. Call it a pre-mid-life crisis. But I felt really good about making that trip. It was totally worth the worry. I think I'm going to invest in a GPS so I can do this more often. It was great to visit the family for so long. I miss seeing them and have already convinced myself to do it again soon. (If they'll have us anyhow.) Rite of passage - complete.