Our family is currently in the middle of a long drive from Massachusetts, where we spent the long summer months, back to our home in Washington state.
As I write this, my computer screen in bouncing along on my lap in tune with the rhythmic ruts of Interstate 90-W. We are somewhere in the belly of South Dakota.
Nine days ago, when we set off from Springfield, Massachusetts, we had a plan in place. Our route was locked-in and in-hand. Our travel trailer was hitched-up and loaded for the long haul home.
For the first time, we planned to direct our little family along the northernmost “major” route across the country. This route would take us from Massachusetts to Iowa, arcing northwest into South Dakota, and then, straight west to Washington.
As I always do when planning our family travel, for this trip, I mapped out the mileage between planned stopping points, as well as our preferred campgrounds.
In the days leading up to our departure from Massachusetts, my husband called each of those campgrounds and reserved a space for our large trailer and traveling crew of four folks and a fur-child.
Is that what people usually do?
When you have a long trip mapped out, is it typical to plan ahead and reserve your space?
I mean, the risk of not doing so, especially in the summer months, is arriving at a campground that is fully booked-out.
It makes sense to reserve your campground space ahead of time.
Unless, perhaps, you are a caregiving family and your life is often subject to last-minute, medically-induced changes in plans. (Hi there, it's us! Medical family at your service.)
So, our general rule is: Reserve your overnight stay the day before you are scheduled to arrive. And only the day before.
Booking our travel accommodations in advance has kicked us in the butt before,
and now, it has kicked us in the butt again.
(Seriously?! With all the road travel we do, you would think we would know better by now.)
But our son was doing so well! And everything, medically speaking, was a smooth operation.
So, my husband took the leap of faith that everything would continue on accordingly.
And then, CRASH!! KAW-BOOM!
Medical needs popped up. (As they tend to do.) And always in the most inconvenient of places, considering access to quality care, of course.
In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, I made the executive decision to change our route, turning southwest to (eventually) return us to our usual path across the Mountain West states along Interstate 80. This route puts us within spitting distance of both Children’s Hospital Colorado in Denver and Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, as well as St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital in Boise and Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon.
The route change will allow us to seek quality medical care at an institution with sufficient pediatric experience, should the need arise.
It was the safer decision.
It is the safer route.
And still, the route change means one very long day of driving to reach a hub of civilization in western Nebraska large enough to support a community hospital with a 24-hour emergency room and close enough to Denver that we will reach the city the following day.
But even one exceptional day of long travel is one day too many when you are caring for someone who really requires a few days of rest and recovery. (Unfortunately, taking time for “rest and recovery” is not a great idea in an area lacking the type of medical care that may prove necessary.)
Changing our route also means correcting the mistake we made in scheduling the campgrounds ahead of us.
As I sat behind the wheel this morning, my husband got comfortable with his phone in the passenger seat, cancelling every confirmed reservation, comping reimbursements at some while eating fees at others.
Things happen.
Plans do change, sometimes unexpectedly.
Though, as a caregiving family, we have come to accept that the “unlikely” is, in fact, quite likely.
We have learned to absolutely expect the “unexpected.”
We know that, in our travels, something will almost certainly happen to cause our plans to change, and probably in some dramatic fashion.
We re-learned that lesson again today.
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