Traveling with kids at any time of the year is difficult. Traveling with kids at Christmas Time is HORREDOUS! In my lifetime, there have been 5 times when we not only traveled with kids at Christmas, but we TRANSFERRED duty stations at Christmas time. That is a major undertaking, especially with little kids. AS we grew older it was not as tough because the SANTA was not expected as much as when we were little.
We were living in Virginia Beach, when Jim got his orders back to Sea Duty. We had been on back-to-back tours at NAS Oceana for 5 years, but we were expecting another tour from The East Coast after the first of the year. I was not expecting to transfer ACROSS Country, especially before Christmas. Jim brought his orders home a week before Thanksgiving, and we were packed and ready to leave by Dec 15.
We knew we would be driving to Jim’s Parents house in Michigan, where we would stay until after Christmas, so we had to plan on Santa gifts too. This would be Tim’s first really aware of things Christmas, and we knew that he would be fully into the whole deal. Donna was still in first grade, so she would be fully expectant of Santa also. We had two cars, so Jim drove the VW Squareback full of the SANTA and the Luggage, and I drove the VW bus, with the kids and the other items we would need until our Household effects would arrive in Alameda, Ca.
We pulled out of Virginia Beach loaded and ready for a long dark drive to Charleston, W.Va. where we would be spending the weekend with Jim’s Aunt and Uncle before the LONG drive into Michigan. It was a long drive into Charleston even on I –64, because it was very hilly and twisty, and icy, and I was not real comfortable driving in those conditions. As I was white knuckling it into the really hilly part of W. Va., with both kids sound asleep on their own seats in the back, I was looking at all of the Christmas Lights all lit up in the night. Suddenly out of the back , right into my left ear was a tiny little voice, saying…”oh the pretty Tristmas lights!…” scared the bejesus outa me. Tim had been standing up quite awhile, looking out the window at Christmas going by in the night.
Once I calmed down, I asked him how long he had been awake, and he told me he was watching the Santa stuff. That was back in the last town we passed about an hour back. I had never known him to be so quiet. He was usually all jabber. This one night he was quiet, as if he knew that Mom was tense, and he wanted to add to the peace of the moment. He has always loved the Christmas Lights. ALWAYS!
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