Among the myriad of things that kept me busy this summer (and caused an unintentional blogging break) was a bucket list vacation to Hawaii.  It wasn't on my own personal list, but apparently, it appeared on a list created by my hubbie when he was in high school. 

Believe it or not, I balked a little at the idea of going.  I would rather have spent the money on new windows for the kids' bedrooms or on replacement carpet for the living room. 

At heart, I am not a vacation person.  I am one of those people that gets stressed out before the vacation even starts.  I'm the person that has to do all the laundry and clean the bathrooms before we leave.   After several days of hotel staff cleaning for you, the last thing I want to come back to is overflowing hampers and toothpaste residue in my sink. 

I also have to update my ICE list (In Case of Emergency List).  The sister-in-law that I usually give the list to always freaks out a little when handed the manila envelope.   I also go through everyone's suitcases with the zeal of a TSA agent, making sure enough underwear has been packed and that everyone's gels, pastes, or liquids are either packed or in the appropriate 3 ounce containers.

The Spouse on the other hand is a total vacation nut and doesn't stress over anything.  He was the one who went to the travel agent, got the brochures, and came home with a price that was hard to resist.  Don't get me wrong.  The trip did put a sizeable dent in our wallet.  (The recent credit card statement made me physically wince.)  But as I paged through the brochures, I remembered my mom, who passed away three years ago from lung cancer.

One of the things that I regret is that we did not have time to take one final family vacation with my parents and my brother and his family.  We had talked about it but never got around to it.  Then my mom was diagnosed with end stage cancer.  She chose treatment, and in the year that followed, she was never well enough to travel again.

So with my 81- year old dad in tow, my family and my brother's family took the plunge and went to Hawaii.  It was not without its bumps (with a party of 10, make dinner reservations WAY in advance), but it was worth it.  My windows may be a little drafty this winter, but hey, I can look back on the pictures of my dad doing the hula to the delight of his three grandchildren and get a warm, fuzzy feeling  inside.