Beach Bound

 Got off the phone late yesterday afternoon with my little brother and the thought I'd been trying to process all week finally popped into my head.

 You see Jen and I are soon to depart for the lovely oil-stained Gulf Coast, after two years of planning Max's First Vacation, we finally roll out Friday night.

  I think we might be getting the beginnings of an idea of what this whole 'parenthood' thing is all about. It's about lists, and strategizing, and worrying. No longer are the days of arriving home from work, throwing our luggage in the trunk, grabbing a bag of snacks and heading out.
  In the last three weeks we've filled several pages of a yellow legal pad with all we're gonna need to keep the monkey entertained for one week away from home. Also we've discussed at length what his reaction's gonna be to the sand, water, and sun. Will he fuss every time his sweaty little feet bring sand into direct contact with his hands or clothes? Will he scream at the size of the Gulf? Sure he loves the bathtub, but will a pool freak him out? I realize all of this is mostly unnecessary or overkill but we're sharing the condo with Jen's family. We don't want their one week of beach vacation destroyed by a 14 month old.

So as Adam correctly phrased, "Gone are the days of a nice relaxing week away. It's now a Family Vacation."

 Tar Balls here we come.
 Have a safe Memorial Day weekend.