Every summer when I was a kid, my family would make the long drive from Washington State where we lived at the time out to Utah to visit our grandparents who lived here.  That drive was a brutal 14 hour drive if you didn’t add on all the time for every potty stop we had to make along the way…which trust me, with 10 kids in the car was a LOT of potty stops.  We had one of those extended full size vans that we all drove in.  Seatbelts were not in fashion back then so we would pay each other a quarter to have someone get on the floor so we could lay across the back seat.  Our van didn’t have air conditioning so we drove with the windows rolled down.  My two oldest sisters didn’t want to have their hair get messed up so they would hang towels along the roof in the back seat so they could block the wind from messing up their hair.  Back then we didn’t have ipods, or even walkmans yet (wow am I dating myself here), so we only had the radio and dad would only play his music on it, which all of us kids hated, so it made for a long, miserable drive to Utah every summer.

Interestingly enough, some of my best memories are of the crazy things that happened along those long drives to Utah.  I think I actually remember the memories of the drive even more than I remember the events that happened once we arrived at the grandparent’s homes.  Which is crazy because at the time I thought it was miserable and horrible and couldn’t end soon enough….so then why do I have such awesome good memories of that exact same experience now???

I thought a lot about that today as I was stressing over finishing up the building of our new house and trying to get a million things done.  I think that what feel to be our most difficult and frustrating times in life, once we get through them, end up being our most meaningful memories.  It’s not when we arrive at the end point that we remember the best, it is the journey we took getting there that seems to resonate most in our minds.  Because in life, getting there truly is half the fun.  So on those days when things seem difficult or frustrating or like they will never end….hang in there….one day you will look back at today and laugh and tell stories and have all kinds of great memories….so in those stressful moments of life just remind yourself that Getting There Is Half the Fun!

This weekend try to enjoy the ride while it’s happening, not just when you look back on it someday.

Have a great weekend everyone!
~Amy