Last Trip as a family of Five

California has become such a hard place for us to visit; so much to do and see, but never enough time. We flew down to LA for Disneyland, drove three hours north to Fresno where my parents reside, then drove another three hours north to San Francisco to where my in-laws are, then added 45 minutes north to Sacramento to visit my old college friends (whom I haven’t seen in over five years), and drove back down to Fresno to spend my dad’s birthday with him. But the silver lining to all of this- Vichai and I got a total of NINE hours of uninterrupted conversation in the car. We joked that it was a nice little “couples retreat” for us as we have been so busy making the Saefong House go round.

We had the most validating conversation with a family friend; she said to us, “I love that you guys don’t see any of this as an inconvenience. From traveling with your three children to driving basically across California.” I was telling Vichai how that made me want to cry; of course it’s not an inconvenience! Life is so short, I would make any drive to see people who has made a difference in my life. And if anything, I wouldn’t want my kids to ever feel like a nuisance in my life. Would it be easier to travel without multiple bathroom breaks? Sure! Would it be easier to travel without noise? Absolutely! Would it be easier to travel without car seats and extra luggage? Duh! But my heart would be missing the best part of me and the trip would mean nothing.

Despite this being our last Saefong Five trip, I look forward to filling up a whole row on an airplane. I look forward to baby’s little toes touching sand for the first time and hating it. I look forward to our toddler being tall enough to ride the thrill rides with his older siblings. I look forward to being grandparents and doing this all over again with our grandchildren (which Vichai thinks I’m crazy thinking that far ahead). All in all, life wouldn’t be this full if I didn’t have these little ones to share it with. Life wouldn’t be as full if we didn’t get to share it with family and friends who means so much to us. And life wouldn’t be so full if we didn’t know how small we were in this big world.

Until our next Saefong Six trip,
Rachel Saefong