AAhhh! I had an idea! I wrote words! It was amazing! The worst part of this quarantine has been my lack of focus. I can’t focus on anything for more than ten minutes at a time. Well, that’s not true. I can spend the entire day reading but I can’t put more than three sentences together before I’m picking up my phone to scroll through Tik Tok. (Don’t get me started) This week I decided to jump back in to “12 Short stories in 12 months.” The prompt was Agenda and the word count was 750. Let me know what you think.
“It’s the fifth year in a row you’ve planned this trip and it’s the fifth year in a row that the kids and I are already trying to fake illnesses so that we don’t have to go,” Mike turned back to cutting onions, I crossed my arms and glared at him.
“Might I remind you that this is supposed to be a fun-filled family vacation? Most families love going on road trips together and ending up some place fantastic!” I was still glaring at Mike.
“Can you even hear yourself right now, Caitlyn?” You’re right, this is supposed to be a fun trip but it’s not. It wasn’t fun the first year we did it and did you honestly have a good time? No. I love you, babe, but you gotta pick a new place and you cannot, no matter what, write out a daily agenda.”
My mouth dropped open and my eyes narrowed, the only sound was the knife slicing across the cutting board as Mike quickly chopped up vegetables for dinner. My feelings were hurt. I loved planning this trip for my family. I know it can get a little tense but the agenda is for everyone’s enjoyment. How can you possibly fit in everything there is to do if you don’t have a daily plan? I was still glaring at Mike when he turned to check if I was there.
“Come on, Hun. Let’s talk about this. Why don’t we sit down, as a family, and pick some place new. The kids are 15 and 17. The idea of going to Disney World doesn’t fly with them anymore,” Mike was using that soothing, convincing tone that he used when he was trying to explain things from his point of view.
“We can have everyone write a destination and we’ll draw it out of a hat. How does that sound?”
It didn’t sound at all good to me. Our daughter would pick something like New York City so we could see Broadway shows and our son would almost definitely pick somewhere a baseball team was having Spring Training. I adore my children but neither of those things sounded like my idea of a family vacation. Mike, I knew, wouldn’t care what we did. He’s was the easiest going and most relaxed person I’ve ever met. When we got engaged I spent three days making a binder to keep track of everything wedding related. I went to six different dress shops to make sure I found the perfect dress that both flattered me and that Mike would love. Mike picked the first suit he tried on.
An hour later as my family sat around our dinner table Mike brought up the idea of everyone choosing a place and drawing out of a hat. The kids immediately perked up at the chance to get what they wanted.
“Cami, do not pick something stupid,” Jared, our 17 year old son said to his sister. Cami glared at Jared, doing her best impersonation of me.
I cleared my throat, “I think we should all take a day or two to think about this. Put some serious thought and research into this. We only get one trip a year and I want it to be a great trip for everyone.” Cami rolled her eyes and excused herself from the table while Jared shoved the rest of his mashed potatoes into his mouth as he was getting up.
“Got it. Research.” Jared mocked.
I was willing to let the subject go for now. I would give my family the time they needed to pick well thought out places. I too would do some research and find something all of us would enjoy. I suggested Mike do the same but he said he already knew what he was picking.
We waited three days before anyone brought up the trip. Since we were again sitting around the table I thought it was a perfect time to discuss our options.
“Guys, have you picked your places? Are we ready to choose?” I asked. Mike and the kids glanced around the table at each other, Cami was smiling and Jared was scowling.
“Um, guys? What’s going on?” I was getting concerned with their silence.
“Go ahead, Cami,” Mike urged.
“Okay. Mom, we’ve decided we want to do Disney again this year…with a few exceptions.”
I almost cried. “That’s wonderful! What exceptions?” I asked, looking between them.
“Well,” Mike started.
“No agenda,” Jared announced.
Then I did cry.
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