Day 132 (November 1): The Big Pivot

Greetings from Los Angeles International Airport, where we are enjoying an overnight layover on our way to Costa Rica. It has been ten days since we pulled into Portland in the RV. Several times during that span, Elise remarked that she suddenly understands that it's possible to be hospitalized for exhaustion. This pivot, from phase one (RV) to phase two (foreign lands), was BIG.

What you could see in our pictures, and in the memories of the children, is ten days of fun and excitement. Playdates, parties, sleepovers and reunions. Because of their ages - between 6 and 11 - their experiences were very different. The twins (6) had pure and unadulterated fun. They blitzed from one exciting visit to another, upset only when they were too tired to cope. For Lily, almost every moment of joy was tinged with longing. She was thrilled to be with friends but felt on the outside looking in. Theres tween drama that is absent from our family unit but there is also the sense of connection with good friends. In between, Henry was mostly aware of the joy but also a bit affected by sadness that the time was so limited. He always wanted more: more time, more toys, more friends, and more time with toys and friends.

Preparing and packing was excruciating. Eventually, we left with 14 items: each of us has a suitcase and a backpack (that's 12) plus a suitcase for our school and a small daypack. On most days, Amazon brought us several boxes. In the last few days, we had multiple doctor and dentist appointments as we endeavored to get all our systems in proper working order. We're carrying nearly a cubic foot of pill bottles, between our everyday things and our more exotic, travel-induced prescriptions.

Honestly, I don't know what else to say. I'm overcome with a sense of relief that we're finally gone. I was so tired of packing and checking items off endless lists. Tomorrow morning we will wake up, get back on an airplane, and fly to our first foreign destination: Costa Rica. We'll be at surf camp for a week, which I hope will provide relaxation and restoration in an atmosphere that is fun for all six of us.

At least we won't have to pack!

Our home, reflected in the window of our RV, decorated with stickers from the national parks we visited.

Henry found some of last year's classmates after school one day.

Lily got a haircut

Four kids at the dentist at the same time.

Halloween (it was about 45 degrees)

Ready to go

 I have found myself wondering how to capture the kids' perspective on our travel. I'm hoping to try a little video project once we get to Costa Rica, when they might have the bandwidth. I'm thinking of adapting a dinner time game we sometimes play, "Rose and Thorn." Basically, we go around and each say something good about our day ("rose") and something bad ("thorn"). I'm wondering what the kids would say were the rose and thorn for the RV trip.

I'm also wondering what their expectations are, for the nine months ahead of us (too abstract for them to comprehend) but also for smaller increments, such as the week at surf camp or the month in South America. If it works, you'll see it here.

Finally, I feel like starting a list of flights and airports. Today was #1, from PDX to LAX. It was less than two hours. We had easy check in, a meal at the airport (with Nana, Papa and cousin Adele before we went through security) and then zero wait time because we had cut it a little close. We sat 2-2-2. The kids spent the entire time on their tablets even though the very modern A319 had in-seat entertainment! The flight was less than two hours. There was a little bit of complaining about their backpacks being heavy (ha!) and Ali got lost within the first five minutes but rescued just as quickly. Alright, I think that's all I want to remember for later.