We were invited to go to Florida the first week of June.
Why did I want to say no….
- My boys were all already committed to attend 4-H camp. 1) They love the camp and 2) I’d lose our deposit if they didn’t go.
- We already had scheduled a 10 day trip to Florida in July.
- Joey was already going to be gone the following week to Washington D.C. and I didn’t want to run him ragged from one trip to another.
- Financially, it didn’t make sense. More money spent after we allocated our summer travel money to our July Florida trip.
- Time. Since the boys’ summer is divided equally with their dad, and the boys have a couple different week long camps they love to attend, our time at home with ‘nothing to do’ is going to be limited. I crave lazy summer days of sleeping in, having neighbor kids running through my house, running down to our subdivision pool to swim and having fires at night.
- Theme parks- the plan was to go to Universal Studios for a couple days. I’m not a huge fan of the theme parks. They are expensive, can be crowded and honestly my boys are just as happy, if not more, spending all day on a beach. Free and relaxing, can’t be that.
Why did I say yes…
My sister-in-law (well technically ex sister-in-law) invited us to meet them in Florida so the cousins could spend time together. The last time my boys had seen their cousin’s was at my ex’s mother’s funeral about a year and a half ago. The last time my boys got to see their cousin’s for a fun reason was 3 years ago when we were invited to their home in Colorado. The boys and I had spent almost a week in Colorado hiking mountains, relaxing and playing with their two Colorado cousins and it was amazing.
I have continued to feel loved and welcome by all of my ex’s family even after we were separated. Social media allows me to watch my nieces (I’m not ever gonna call them ex-nieces) grow up, I send FB messages to my ex’s aunt, and phone calls and texts with sister. Two of his sister’s had personally called and invited me back to their mom’s funeral. It is wonderful to know I am welcome and they still consider me family. One of my ex’s sisters got remarried this past weekend and she wrote me a handwritten note inviting me to attend. I actually had to photograph a wedding the same day so could not travel back to Iowa but very much appreciated her going out of her way to know I was welcome. It’s good to feel loved.
I got a funny feeling in my stomach when I initially said yes to the Florida trip knowing it wasn’t the best financial decision and there were many reasons why I should have said no. But I also knew yes, was the only answer.
Joey ended up staying back home to attend 4-H camp (he thought it was the last year he could go) but I bought tickets for Jake, John, and I to head down to spend time with their cousins & aunt and uncle. These boys had an opportunity to make memories at a theme park, somewhere I don’t plan on going again anytime soon, with family they don’t see often enough and they were super excited.
When we got there and saw the laughter and fun the kids all had together, the remaining worry about making an extra trip to Florida this summer was completely erased. I knew it was the right thing to do. And the looks on their faces only reinforced it. So thankful for my family, my ex’s family and friends who I consider family. Those are the people that make life worth living.
So why did I say yes? I said yes because my boys need to spend time with their extended family. I said yes because family matters.
XOXOXO,
Heather
Heather is the owner of Sweet Lemonade Photography and co-owner of Sweet Darling Weddings. Life gave her a bunch of lemons (you can read a little more here) and by keeping her focus on God, finding the positive in each day, and surrounding herself with supporting, loving and encouraging people she has turned those lemons into the sweetest lemonade. This blog has been created to share her heart, her adventures and find ways to bless others. You can contact her at heather@sweetlemonadelife.com.
