This post is written by Norma – check out her bio under Guest bloggers

If you’re not taking the kids then I think the answer is no.

My aunt’s 50th birthday celebration was in Florida and I live in Connecticut. I love this aunt very much and she happens to be the only aunt/uncle that will fly or drive for any family event so this trip was a must.

I decided to combine the birthday celebration with a week long vacation. I haven’t taken a vacation in a while and now I know why!

There is just so much to do, especially when you are divorced.

Step 1- Make sure my ex husband can accommodate this particular week on his ever changing retail schedule.

Step 2- Contend with my daughters attitude because she had to lug her curling iron and a weeks worth of clothes to her dad’s place. My daughter can be challenging to say the least…

Step 3- Stress about my daughter missing her first SAT prep class because my ex may not be able to get her to the class. Try to arrange an alternative.

Step 4- Oh, schedule an emergency trip to the doctor almost hours before take off…because it seemed as if my daughter just got an allergic reaction to something! Had to squeeze that in and make a pharmacy run.

This last minute problem could have been avoided if I had handled it sooner. She has been telling me her head has been itchy for a couple weeks now. But something ALWAYS hurts so I don’t react as quickly anymore …Unfortunately, whatever she reacted to caused a really bad case of eczema. I felt terrible.

Which brings me to

Step 5 Make sure ex has all of my children’s doctor’s numbers, insurance information, etc…

Step 6- Add an international text plan so I can contact the kids while away.

And at this point, I hadn’t even packed! I was so excited to get away but I just don’t think I’ll ever be able to relax. Like …ever – my body, probably, but my mind … Well, it will be thinking about all those worries…