I’ll Be Home for Christmas and Evidence I Am the Neglected Middle Child

If I had my way, we would go home every Christmas but we alternate locations because I married a man who 1) has family here in Colorado and 2) stubbornly refuses to work for the airlines so I can fly for free.

I had been stressing about this Christmas. With the crummy economy and airline tickets that have been jacked up due to rising fuel costs, it was a very real possibility we would not be able to afford it even though it is our year to go home.

I shopped for tickets back in October and the cheapest I could come up with during peak travel times was $800 + taxes. Multiple that by four and it is equal to more than I make in a month. OK, a year.

I stumbled upon a site that compares all the prices from the leading travel sites and I was able to play around with dates and numbers. At first, I couldn’t get it for under $3,200. But I figured out how to save some money by having the kids and I depart one week earlier than my husband and we would then all fly back together.

The upside: We saved almost $1,000 and gosh darn it, we get to go home for the holidays!

The downsides: We still payed a fortune (more than I make in a decade) and won’t have much money left for presents. But the most dreadful thing of all: there are layovers both ways. And one of those “ways” will involve solo travel with The Children.

If you remember my travel travails of last summer (think bird in the windshield), you will wonder if my head is screwed on straight. It surely is, but it’s just facing the wrong direction.

Nonetheless, after weeks of agonizing about it, I was ecstatic to be going home. I called my mom that night.

“Guess what, Mom. We were able to save some money on airline tickets AND WE’RE COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!”

“Oh really? Is this your year to come?”