The Reason

I have been asked and continue to be asked why I'm not going to the Bahamas this summer with my wife and her family. I'm not sure how to answer it in a way that satisfies anyone.

Originally it was more a financial thing, knowing we need the money to spend on the house we bought last November. Janna really wanted to go, so of course I'm not going to hold her back. I on the other hand, will be home with the boys. Of course my time would be best spent at home working on the house, but of course, having 3 boys to care for will be only a road block to getting anything done. How Janna does it, I will never know. I guess years of practice will build up your stamina. So instead of rushing back to Denver, I will stay an extra week in Idaho.

I knew I would have to use the week to care for them or try and find a sitter for them while I am at work, so I opted to take the week off. Hopefully it will be a little easier having family around. Either way I will be a single father that week. Rusty will be turning 3 that week as well, he loves his birthday so much I would hate to miss it. I love my boys so much despite having to be away from home so much during the day. They want nothing more than to wrestle and play catch and help me do anything. It will be nice to be able to show them where I was a little boy and take them to places that were part of my childhood. Since moving to Colorado we haven't been back up to Idaho, so being able to spend a couple of weeks there will be a treat.

The hardest part about living here isn't the place, it's the distance. We have no family here. Both of our parents live about 1000 miles away. We have a lot of family in Utah, but they are about 600 miles from here, and now with the gas prices doubling in the last year or so, it's not as cheap as it used to be. That is disappointing because we really wanted to get there more this year to see family.

I don't know if I have a good answer for not going. I don't know if this really was an answer as much as a thought process. I actually want to go, I love my inlaws and have so much fun with them and all of Janna's siblings and their spouses. We had one of the best trips of my life a few years ago to Maui. I also love the beach. However, this time I guess there are just a few other things that I need to do.