Me: “We’ve just had enough. I’ll explain it better when I get home”

“OH,

really?”

“Wow, go figure!”

“Who would leave a vacation a day early??”

“Especially Hawaii…”

“Whahapa?” (She’s trying to sound Hawaiian.)

That is the reaction on my family chat after I casually texted, “FYI, we decided to come home tomorrow instead of Thursday.”

I’d been keeping my daughters on the “mainland” updated with photographs of our vacation in Kauai. Our original plan for this tropical extravaganza had been to arrive Sunday and depart Thursday, but my husband and I decided to leave early. Within a few minutes of my text, my phone rang with an invitation to join a group Facetime with my daughters.

Daughter 1: “Aren’t you having a good time?”

Me: “Yes, we’re having a lovely time.”

Daughter 2: “But… you traveled so far.”

Me: “Not that far.”

Daughter 3: “It’s just one more day. Why not stay?”

Me: “We already changed the ticket.”

Daughter 4: “But why?”

Me: “We’ve just had enough. I’ll explain it better when I get home.”

They didn’t quite get it. I didn’t quite get it. Only, I did.