You're a wonderful mom, sj, and ltc is super loved and cared for and encouraged. Take care of yourself.

I didn't have a great night, either. The new dog, Dakota, is a super snuggler, and by that I mean, will sleep practically on top of me. It's sort of sweet, but I need a bigger bed.

Aww sj, time spent chilling is also an important part of childhood! Camp will be fun for her, when it happens, a couple weeks is nothing.

Yeah, I know, but I want her to have fun with me too! I wanted to take her to get her toe nails done so she could show them off at camp, but there is no way I could deal with those fumes right now.

But I am also not a driver and also from New England, so an hour and a half in the car seems like a lot to me.

I've had commutes nearly that long.

And you are not unique.

My commute used to be 90 minutes on a good day or 2+ hours in traffic, and I bet some of our LA peeps could beat that.

My family drives 16-18 hours to our summer vacation every summer, so 24 hours sounds like a lot but not totally unreasonable to do in a single shot.

Crap. I have a 3 hour meeting this afternoon and a ton of stuff to do today. I'd rather be driving. I'll get to make taht swap on Friday, I guess, but today is gonna suck.

I'm sorry, sj. I know you want to do fun things with her but you have to treat pneumonia seriously, and that means rest.

I would be miserable with 6-7 hours sleep. I need my sleep. Generally it is 7-8 hours.

I don't mind driving. I don't drive a long commute anymore, but driving 8-12 hours in a day doesn't bother me. It is pretty rare for me to do the all nighter thing anymore, but it is complex enough to travel with 3 pets and I don't want to add hotels to the mix. eta: I have probably driven the FL-NY route nearly a hundred times over the last 40 years. I always have pets so I rarely get to fly there.

it is complex enough to travel with 3 pets and I don't want to add hotels to the mix.

Oh, this totally makes sense. I feel the same way about traveling with kids! (Easier now that they're older, but when it was toddlers...NO. Getting in an out of the hotel and trying to sleep in a strange room vs just driving another 6 hours? No question!)

Stay safe, Laura! I could never manage that much traveling in one day.

ltc and I just put chili in the crock pot so it will be ready when she gets back from karate. ltc loves loves loves to cook. So I guess I win at today. Now I am beyond exhausted and do not intend to move off the couch for quite some time.

I've found that "need less sleep as you get older" thing to be a damned lie. In my 20s I was fine on 4-5 hours of sleep a night, now that I'm pushing 50 I try for 8 or more, and occasionally go to bed before 10 pm.

Anything more than four hours drive time is a point when I start pricing plane tickets. Much harder to fly with pets, though, I know. My sister, on the other hand, will drive 14 hours straight rather than fly. I know there's time lost getting to the airport, going through security, and the vagaries of plane schedules. But 14 hours is well past the break-even point, I think.