road trip

Our family left early this morning for a much-needed vacation. We told the children last night that it was our hope we'd be on the road before sunrise. They were giddy with excitement. But little did they know, our hope never matches our reality when it comes to leaving on time for a road trip.

Largely because by the time Charlie and I finally finish cleaning, packing and loading the car, it's past midnight. Last night we turned in at 1 AM.

This morning, dawn had not yet broken when I heard the pitter patter of little feet come in to our room. It was William.

"Mom! Dad! Wake up! It's time to get dressed and hit the road!" he exclaimed.

We were both feeling so exhausted we just wanted five or better yet, fifty minutes more of shut eye. So, I pulled William in to bed with us and gently rubbing his back negotiated, "Let's just sleep for five more minutes, OK?"

He sighed and said, "OK. I'll just pretend I'm a snooze button."

Charlie and I had just started to doze off again when William called out, "BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Time to GO! Get up sleepy heads!"

Since neither Charlie nor I could remember whose brilliant idea it was to buy our young son an alarm clock and teach him how to tell time, we both felt obligated to get up, get dressed and hit the road.

We're currently making very good progress as we drive south through North Carolina to a destination where the sun shines brightly and the beaches are warm.

And while we weren't very appreciative at 5 AM for his persistence, now that we're almost halfway there, we're very thankful for our little alarm clock. If not for him, we'd probably still be sleeping.