Christmas Travel: Part 2

You know what I noticed this week while driving back and forth from NE Wisconsin to southern Illinois...I have a story, or memory, or at least a thought at just about every Interstate exit along the 500 mile drive.  We've been driving that route for so long, that it is all so familiar.

This exit has a Subway we always stop at.
This is the gas station with the gross bathroom.
This is where the dog got loose that one year.
This is where we bought those raisinets.
This one has the McDonalds with the huge play area.
This exit has no bathrooms.
That exit has the hotel with the pool that was way too cold to swim in.

and on and on and on it goes.

Gives me something to think about during the drive.

I also noticed several cities with connections to friends and family.
Drove through Neenah, WI...where my wife's college roommate is from.
Spent the night in Bloomington, Il....where my cousin lives.
Stopped for supper in Beloit, WI...really close to where one of my college roommates is from.
Saw a sign for Freeport, Il....where another of my college roommates lives now.
Went past Rantoul, Il....where I got married.   :)

All in all, it was a fun Midwestern 2011 Holiday Trek!

Christmas Travel

It's Christmastime...let the travel begin!
Today we're driving to Iowa.
Next week we're driving to Illinois.

Before we had kids (and even when we did have kids and before they started school), my wife and I would take about 10 vacation days, and drive from Minnesota to Iowa and Illinois all in one great midwestern Holiday trek.

Now that we have school schedules to contend with and work responsibilities have changed, the trek has been shortened or missed all together some years.  But this year it's back in a two phase configuration!  A long weekend in Iowa now, and a mid week jaunt to Illinois between Christmas and New Year's.

I'm so glad an 8 hour day in the car doesn't bother our kids.  They've been doing it their whole lives....it's just normal to them.  As long as we have a bag of snacks and the portable DVD player, we're good.

Sometimes I get jealous of friends who talk about the 20 minute drive to grandma's house and the cousins that have to drive all the way from Wausau.  Not having to travel so much might be convenient....but somehow I think I would miss it.  Lots of good memories have been made on the road.

Merry Christmas everybody.  And safe Travels!

Things I do for them (or are they things I do for me?)

I butter and cut my daughter's eggos every morning.
I fold and put away their laundry.  (most of the time....but always their shirts.  They don't do hangers.)
(Speaking of hangers....I still use the toddler hangers for their shirts, even though they aren't big enough.  I can't seem to bring myself to admit they need adult size hangers.)
I drive my son to school, and we live 3 blocks from the school.

Are these things I do for them....or to keep myself relevant as their father?

Tide "Dad-Mom" commercial.

This commercial would be awesome if not for the "Dad-Mom" title.  Can't he just be "Dad"?  Kind of ruffles my feathers a bit.

I like this one better.

Santa Claus and the Real World

I've thought about writing something about Santa Claus for a while now, but I don't want to offend any one or come across too preachy.  So I'll just use Santa as an example in another direction....

In our family, we don't do Santa Claus.  Our kids have never had gifts that were from Santa, and we've never said things like "maybe Santa will get that for you" while looking at toys in the store, or "be good, Santa's watching."

We've always taught them that Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus being born and we give presents to people that we love as a way of celebrating.

But as we all know, you can't avoid Santa out in the "real world."  And even now, our son will say things like "If we don't have a chimney, how does Santa get in?" or "I'm not sure Santa is real...what do you think?"

The Santa issue doesn't actually worry me that much....it's the thought of what other ideas the "real world" is putting in their heads.  I guess it all comes down to the fact that no matter how much I want to keep them young forever and shelter them from the world, at some point the world will get to them, and I hope they can find their way.

Which I guess comes down to a recurring theme of my blog.....I don't know what I'm doing as a parent, but we're doing ok.

And on a related note for those of you in Northeast Wisconsin....whose idea was St. Nick's night?  What's up with that anyway?