My Road is Hot, Hot, Hot

Well, I'm looking over my calendar for the next two months and realize that I've got not one, not two, but THREE week-long trips planned for March and April. Howdy-doody! Slamma-damma-bing-ban! Am I INSANE?

I love travel, but this is a bit much, even for me. All I can say is that I didn't exactly plan it this way. Trip #1 is a family trip, on the books for months, the bi-annual Bird Family Ski Adventure, in which daring Father Bird races down precariously black slopes as if we'd insured him for billions of dollars, laughing maniacally... Eldest Babybird does his Very. Best. to imitate Father Bird, with the added thrill of darting in and out of trees... Babybird #2 grins, organizes snowball battalions, rallies the troops, then beats us all down the mountain... and Babiest Bird peers cautiously down from the top of the Bunny Hill for about 45 minutes, finally decides to risk sliding c.a.r.e.f.u.l.l.y. down it, then can't be persuaded to come in when ski school is over because this sliding thing is just too much fun.

Mamabird... what is Mamabird doing while the family is skiing? Those of you who knew Mamabird in her youth may be shocked to learn that Mamabird has made her Peace with the Snow. Mamabird is no longer the FuddyDuddy KillJoy that she was in her teens and twenties. Oh, no, Mamabird can actually be Seen on Skis, cruising down the easy blues, sun glinting off her fashion goggles, skis almost parallel at every turn. No, she will never, ever be mistaken for Picabo Street, but she's come a long way, baby. And why? Because somewhere along the way Mamabird figured out that skiing was the ONE sport the WHOLE FAMILY could enjoy. Skiing levels the playing field, at least while the dear baby birds are young. Skiing younguns are just about at the same proficiency level as skiing olduns, so we can all go down the same hills, shouting encouragement at each other, laughing at each other, generally having a good ol' time.

The moral behind the Ski Trip is, if you wanna make a Family Memory, you gotta be willing to break a few bones.

Trip #2 is a field trip with Eldest Babybird. This one wasn't exactly planned, at least as far as my involvement. He's going to D.C. with his once-a-week-classical-class. However, no moms signed up to chaperone, so Mamabird has been pressed (bribed) into service. This trip is actually not so fun, as it involves a 12-hour drive there, 24-hour chaperoning duties, an insane touring schedule, not enough sleep, cafeteria meals, and a 12-hour drive home. Plus driving duties. However, Mamabird loves her Baby Bird, who's been a real pain lately. The moral behind the School Trip is, the time together will be a chance to bond with an adolescent who needs all the help he can get.

Trip #3 is a business trip. I'm not telling where, just yet. Let's just say it's warm. It's tropical. There will be beaches involved. And rum. And the baby birds will NOT be attending. (A fact not to be overlooked.) Yeah, we'll have that pesky business to attend to... but once that's done... I see some sleeping by the pool and great Hotel Room you-know-what in our future. (Don't make me spell it out - this is a family blog, after all!) The moral behind the Business Trip is, the best thing you can do for your babybirds is make sure Mama and Father Bird stay in love. (Rum and beaches oughta help with that.)