Forget This Mission

My sister bought a minivan probably 10 years ago, and 4 years later so did we. We didn't do it because Makayla begged for it, though. We did it because we thought we'd fill it with at least 4 more children, and we wanted to be made fun of by the SUV owners.

Not a year after we got our minivan, my sister bought an SUV. And guess who didn't outgrow asking for an SUV until she was 12?

Sometime last month, we bought a Sequoia for traveling, pulling tent trailers and dependability, but not because we had 4 more children.


Immediately, I contacted my good friend in Arizona for charity in hosting our family during one long February weekend. We haven't seen them since here. And the night before or maybe 2 nights before (I can't remember), I realized Matt was too sick to take on the staycation to our friend's house.

But he wasn't too sick to sleep in a comfortable bed and eat food and walk around, but not too much walking around, right? That was my rationalization. So, we packed our bags for San Diego to stay in a hotel with a kitchenette and a beach for walking.



The pictures show he's sick; you can see it in his eyes. At one point, I remember him saying he just wanted to be at home in his own bed. I felt bad. But not bad enough to go home. I thought if I gave him enough Nyquil and nursed him with hugs, he'd stay quiet and get better because I hadn't had a vacation and I wasn't giving in so easily.

This wasn't a proud mom moment for me, but it doesn't define who I am. I'm usually anything but selfish and so is Matthew. That's why he stayed quiet and why we stayed to tour the Mission San Juan Capistrano and ride the surrey at the Hotel del Coronado.

He probably forgot everything about the San Juan Capistrano even though I wanted him to see it for an upcoming report at school. Hopefully, though, he forgets more than just the history of this mission.