The Vacation That Wasn't

This past week we were supposed to be somewhere else.
Mark had five fabulous days off work, plus two weekends.
The twins were out of school.
No piano lessons, dance or baseball practice.
Church duties were light.

And the best part?
We had buddy passes for the entire family just waiting to be used.
Oh how perfect it would have been to jump on a plane and leave the cold and snow behind.
We could hear the Florida shore line beaconing our bare feet.
We could taste Grandma's German Chocolate Cake.
We could feel the warmth of the sun gently caressing our pale faces and frostbitten fingers.

Only one snag.....
About 347,872 other people had the same idea.
We could not get a flight to Evanston, let alone a warm and sunny destination.
We checked flights to everywhere and anywhere.

Nothing.
Not a chance.
Ain't happening.

After a day or two of hoping that other folks would stop traveling, we decided to accept our sad fate.
Disappointment was evident.
We frowned and sighed and hung our heads.

Finally, Mark and I called an executive meeting.
We determined to make the best of an unfortunate setback.
We gathered the kids together and announced that we would be staying home for an amazing fun filled week, right here at home!

The twins were understanding and supportive.
We started brain storming all the possibilities before us.

Things were looking up.

And so began a week of good old fashioned togetherness.
Nothing but pure raw time on our hands.
And you know what?  It was surprisingly heaven-like.

We slept in, stayed up late. 
Played hours and hours of games.
We had the zoo to ourselves in a snowstorm.
Mark and Linc cheerfully sat through The Sound of Music then Rachie and me returned the favor when they rented Star Trek.
We scored four tickets in the Jr. Jazz section of Energy Solutions Arena.
We raced down powder filled hills on our sleds and then came home and curled up by the fireplace.
We hung out with cousins and other family.
Lincoln and Rachel inflated an air mattress and slept in the family room.
We ate too much fudge and cookies and chips.
No piano practice required.
The boys watched football and the girls worked on crafts.
We talked, we laughed, we set goals and made plans for the year to come.
Mark didn't shave one of the days and I didn't give him too hard of a time.
Everyone pitched in with the housework.
Neither of the twins even asked to play with friends.

It really was that great.
Who would have thought?

Raw time.  I could get used to this.
I hadn't realized how much of our life is filled up with places to be and things to get done.
So much busy-ness and not nearly enough unstructured, unscheduled, unorganized time.

The vacation that wasn't turned out to be the best week of the year.
I wish it could have lasted a month.
How can families carve out more time together?
That is the question I have been asking myself all day.

If anyone reading this has some good ideas, please pass them on to me.
Oh and by the way, I hear that raw time on the coast of Florida is pretty good too.