37three
Are You Ready?
Every year my family takes a huge trip. We’re like the Griswolds
on steroids. If we spend fewer than fifty hours in the car, hit
fewer than five different states, and log fewer than three thou-
sand miles, we pretty much consider it a trip to the grocery store.
Over the past five years we’ve visited thirty US states and
logged hundreds of hours in the car. By the time you read these
words, we’ll have been to all but six of the lower forty- eight
states.
While my husband plans our trips, I do all the packing for
the kids, gather the snacks, and come up with the entertain-
ment. (We’re big on audiobooks and books.) Before we head
out on our epic adventures, we always do one important thing:
we evaluate. For the trip to be successful, we have to be aware
of our kids’ personalities and our own personalities and limits,
and then we make a plan based on that.
We know that our oldest teen, Anna, thrives when she has
some alone time and a space to retreat to. So we give her the
far back seat all to herself. She can play games with her siblings