As much as I love getting away and seeing new places, sometimes the planning and preparation is so much work that it seems easier to stay home.

For me, anyway, because my best estimate is that in my family, about 90% of the planning and packing seems to fall on my shoulders.  And that’s for several reasons:

1. How many pairs of socks does an adult male need for a week’s vacation?  According to my husband, two.  Or however many pairs are clean when he starts packing because he actually remembered to put them into the laundry.

2. Where is the kids’ travel kit with their toothbrushes and whatever else they’d need on the road?  I doubt I’d think to ask Dave that question, because I’m not sure he knows that it even exists, despite the fact that he’s had to have seen this black bag on hotel room bathroom counters for at least the last five years.

3. What do we need to pack for a beach vacation with the kids?  My answer: swimsuits, goggles, frisbee, football, sunscreen, baby powder (to get the sand off their feet), flip-flops, towels, beach blanket and umbrella.  Dave’s answer: a beach chair that’s good for naps, and a book, right??

Now, in Dave’s defense, he generally works a lot more hours than I do. which means two things – 1. He is in a greater need for a restful break than I am, and 2. More of the child care responsibilities fall to me because I’m with them more (so I have a better idea of where their stuff is.  Or, in some cases, that it even exists).

It is getting easier as the kids get older and are more self-sufficient.  Vacation feels more like vacation, and less like I’m just cleaning up after them in a different place with a pool.