On the 5th Day of Christmas…

…my true loves gave to me…

The Christmas Road-trip!

After weeks of planning, prepping, on-line shopping, and To-Do-list-checking; days of anxious anticipation building and mounting; several very late nights of making, wrapping, organizing, preparing, and packing; and a big push in the final 48 hours pre-departure; this morning, bright and early, we HIT THE ROAD right on schedule! With three beaming bambinos in the backseat we embarked on our J-M Family Christmas Extravaganza! Plowing forward through the string of states of our northernly migration (oh, they know the order so well: “Pennsylvania! New Jersey! New York! Connecticut! Massachusetts! New Hampshire!”… we cheer like crazy at each highway-side sign marking our entrance into a more northward state!… and finally… Maine!). Driving along our three eat special snacks and watch DVDs while we two up front talk non-stop about life’s ups and downs, this year’s Christmas, and the ritualistic nature of it all.

All day long it is, “Merry Christmas!”, “Merry Christmas!”, “Merry Christmas!” back and forth amongst us five. And it is very clear: Christmas, for us, is not just a day, it is a whole experience.

We check into the hotel in Portland, swim in the pool, then order room service and a movie. Once they are tucked in I can’t help but marvel at our threesome, and wonder what they’ll remember of their childhood Christmases. So much work to make this magic happen. But so worth it when it all unfolds with humungous smiles on their faces and stars in their eyes.