Adventures In Motherhood

Last night I had a dream during the three hours I slept (in between puppy awakenings) that might be a metaphor for my life. In my dream, I drove my minivan directly off a dead-end road into a 'lake' in Cancun in shear exhaustion. Sinking fast, I managed to save both dogs (my ten-week and six-year-old Schnoodles) from their separate kennels in the back of my car. Luckily my four children were not with me, however, my husband, back aboard the cruise ship in the Cancun of my imagination, would surely be furious I drown our family's only means of 8-person luxury transportation. Needless to say, we missed our flight back to the states because our minivan had sunken to the depths of a lake in Cancun! Awake in a panic, I realized it was just a dream, and that at 5:30 am this morning, I was not the least bit rested thanks to the previous three times the puppy chirped from it's kennel needing to 'go potty' in the middle of the night. As my eyes began to twitch nerv...

My life could be a script for National Lampoon's Summer Vacation! Last weekend my in-laws arrived two days early 'Cousin Eddie' style, in a Winnebago parked in front of my house while I assumed the Clark Griswold role for better or worse, as if dictated by my wedding vows. Though my mother and late father-in-law always arrived at their leisure over our 23-year marriage without much forethought for our schedule, as my passive husband permitted, I cannot help but love these people who comprise my family and admire their sense of adventure! God bless 'em! Who could blame my 84-year-old mother-in-law for desperately wanting to see her son and grandchildren while embarking on a 2,000-mile trek to the Pacific Northwest, reminiscent of the travels she took with her late husband who passed last summer after nearly 65 years of marriage? This time my sister-in-law (aka Chia) and her partner of 18 years (aka Junker), along with their intimidating Boxer with enormous balls name...