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by Hope

We have always done road trips. Princess and Gymnast took their first road trips a week after they were born. And as the kids became drivers, they drove some…but not much. We had a 15 passenger van and that’s a little scary to trust to a new driver. Not that they didn’t get their turn.

But I can’t remember a time since they were all driving, that we took a road trip. But the girls and I are have done just that. Headed to Texas for Thanksgiving. Three drivers and a dog. In my beloved Honda HRV. 15+ hours of drive time, with a planned break in New Orleans. (My car camping mattress was in place so whomever is in the back could actually sleep. We were packed tight). No hotel stops planned.

We packed food. I budgeted $100 for gas. And everyone had their own spending money for whatever we do in New Orleans…Cafe Du Monde beignets and Muffuletta for me. Our goal was to get to my parents in less than 24 hours.

I’m grateful for this time with my girls. For the means to make this trip and spend a week with my family including all 5 of my kiddos. All 13 of my immediate family will be there – parents, siblings, and my kids. These times and times get more and more rare. And harder to arrange.

Food for the Week

I’ve arranged the menu for the week. I’ll be cooking for everyone for every meal except one. (My kids will all pitch in to help.) My dad will provide the groceries for the week. I’ve already written about the cost of dog boarding. I realize there are some in the BAD community who question my dad’s help. It’s just how our family works. It’s how my dad’s family worked. And I (we all) recognize how blessed we are and do not take it for granted.

And then, after my kids all leave, I’ve got a new laundry list of things my dad has requested some support with.

How about you? Do you have exciting plans this week with friends and / or family? 

Hope

Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.

But life has a way of rewriting your plans.

A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.

Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.

Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.

She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.