Distractions

In just one week I will be saying good bye to my friend and her family as they move to Washington. I've known this was coming for awhile.  Friday night two of her girls came over, Bethany's best friend and Lucy's best friend. As I watched them all piled on the couch together, taking turns holding Mattie and laying down with their heads on each other's laps, I was suddenly struck that this was the last time they'd be together at my house. I was so sad. I am so sad. I know that when life changes it can feel like a big fat downer lots of the time. This move is a huge exciting deal for their family, and I am super happy for them. It's just that it's a turning point, and things will never be the same again.

Months ago, when Bethany learned that her BFF would be moving sometime in the not-so-distant future, I told her that we'd visit them wherever they went. Later when we found out they were moving thousands of miles away to Washington and Bethany promptly burst into tears at the thought of losing her friend to such a distance, I immediately tried to comfort her by reminding her that we'd visit. Yes, even as far away as Washington, we will visit. Bethany and Lillian met in kindergarten, and somehow managed to form a quick and strong friendship, even though they weren't even in the same class. Honestly, I still don't know how that happened. When we moved a few years ago and Bethany switched schools, instead of drifting apart, their friendship grew exponentially. As I watched them hug good bye yesterday morning, my heart broke to know thing are about to change so drastically. They will see each other again this week, I'll make sure of it, but it will probably be hurried and rushed and busy...and just not the same.

I promised a visit, and so we have been planning a visit. A trip to Washington is a big deal, especially with four kids and a husband who won't be able to come along. Add to that my brilliant idea of a cross-country road trip. I watch in awe as my friend prepares her family to MOVE across the country, knowing how challenging it is just to plan a vacation. In the beginning, I quietly had my doubts. Would we be able to really do this? So I jumped in with two feet. I talked to my aunt in Idaho, who had also invited us to visit, and told her we were thinking about doing it. I told the kids, knowing I wouldn't want to disappoint them by backing out. I started saving money. I started planning routes and searching for the most interesting sites along the way. I bought an atlas and some other travel books. I began shopping for a new GPS. Although it is still months away, this trip is starting to feel real. Planning it is helping me to not be sad about my friend moving away. It's a really good distraction.

A few weeks ago I received a random email regarding a Wyndham contest. On a whim, I clicked on the link and decided to enter. They're going to choose 10 travel bloggers, who will each win 200,000 Wyndham Rewards points, $800 in American Express gift cards, a video camera, and luggage. Each winner will be required to use her winnings to take a minimum of two trips and blog about them for Wyndham. I quickly submitted my information and wrote a short essay as my entry. I entered even though voting is a big component of the contest. I'm not really competitive and I tend to avoid these types of contests and situations like the plague. But I thought that winning this contest could help us tremendously with our trip. And I would love to blog about it for Wyndham - truly, that is right up my alley. So I did it, and now I've been begging for votes every single day and probably driving lots of my Facebook friends totally nuts. If you'd like, you can go ahead and click HERE to vote for me right now. (Thanks.) You can vote once a day, and I promise it is quick and painless, with no registering or anything else annoying like that. To my surprise, I'm doing pretty well, tenuously hanging on to the #5 spot out of 201. But it is a tough competition with lots of great entries (and a few entrants I strongly and sadly suspect are dishonestly increasing their votes), so I really need all the help I can get. Yes, here I am begging for votes some more, and since the voting continues through the end of March, I can even promise this won't be the last time. I am so happy and thankful for the all the people who have taken the time to vote for me and even share. Thank you to everyone who is helping me stay in the top 10! I really hope I can win, because then our crazy long summer road trip will be even more of a reality! No matter what, we are taking this trip. But Wyndham Rewards points (which = free hotel stays) and American Express gift cards would sure be helpful!

Also last night one of my friends on Facebook posted a "100 Places to Visit Before You Die" app. I clicked on it and found that I have been to only 8 of these places. Eight! That's pitiful. Of course I've been to plenty of awesome places that didn't make the list, but still...8!!! Ugh. That depressed me a little. Then I realized that I hope to visit three more places on the list on our trip this summer, and that made me feel a little better. Plus if I win the contest then I'm planning for my second trip to be one that's just for Chris and I, and we've already talked a little about some places we'd like to go together. And then...I'd maybe get to visit a couple more places on that list. That's not the most important thing, but it would certainly contribute to my happiness quotient.

Anyway, this is just a long winded post to reiterate that I'm going to miss my friend, and that I'm sad for my girls because their friends are moving too, and that I'm looking forward to our trip, and also that I'm really hoping you vote for me. Do you think I've covered enough ground? And I'm sure I haven't had my last word yet, about any of this. So. I have one more week to try to see my friend as often as I can, while trying to be helpful enough that she doesn't want to kick me out of her house too badly. I have three more weeks to plead shamelessly for votes. I have a little more than four weeks until I find out if I'm one of the lucky winners. And I have over four months to continue planning and saving for our road trip. Wish me luck.