traveloehrs

We had reached the final stage of our trip preparation. The kids and luggage were loaded, and the truck was running. Lianne came back into the house and asked me in a way that only she can, “C’mon, what are you doing?!?” I responded feebly…”We have a problem.”

Packing for a trip can be a lot of work and with kids it is definitely a lot more work. Packing for a family for multiple months when you don’t have all the destinations lined up and getting everything in order is a HUGE undertaking. Luckily, Lianne is very organized, and she kept our prep on track.

We got a good curveball thrown our way 5 days before we were scheduled to leave when we found renters for the house. We had been half-heartedly looking in the weeks prior, but nothing was working out. Once we found renters that we liked it was hard (well from my viewpoint, impossible) to turn down the extra monthly cash infusion. While we rented our place furnished, there was still a ton to do in a short period of time. 5 days go by fast when you are semi-moving things to a storage unit, deep cleaning your house, doing the final prep for your trip, and being a parent. There was not a lot of sleep but miraculously, we were able to get everything in order.

This brings us to Lianne’s loving question and my demoralization. While Lianne and the kids were packed up in the car, I was doing the final scan of the house. I had the bright idea to throw some orange peels from the trash into the garbage disposal to give the house a bright and cheery citrus smell for the renters. Fate decided this was the best time to clog the sink.

The next hour was spent with me under the sink showing my novice plumber’s crack and undoing all the pipes to get the clog cleared. The kids flew around me like gnats asking why I was taking so long while Lianne did her best to keep them away. Finally, I emerged from the under-sink darkness and tested the water. The drains were clear! Juniper huffed, sounding eerily like her mama, “Can we finally go now dad!?” I couldn’t help but laugh, “Let’s get this clown show on the road Junebug” I said, and we were off.