Talking me down from the ledge

Our summers are always full of travel. My husband and I don't like our older daughter to miss out on preschool, soccer games, gymnastic routines, etc., all which get going at full steam come September. So, we jam pack in family vacation, "just the girls" vacation, and traveling with Daddy's work all into three crazy months.
Once we get to our destination it is nice to have a break from routine, to see the kid's faces light up at new sights and sounds, and, obviously, to not have to cook every meal.
Another mom once told me that family vacations were never really vacations at all. This really troubled me and I have pushed that thought to the very darkest corner of my mind even when I am in the depths of planning lists, confirming flights, and occasionally digging out my children from half packed suitcases (exhibit A to your left) at home in the days prior to our great getaways.
This is where my husband comes in at the perfect time, hugs me, reassures me, and says something to put it all back into perspective. I could write everyday about my husband, and I optimistically think that all other wives could too, about how he really is my magic, my better half, and my best friend, but one thing he does really well in our relationship is to talk me back from a frantic ledge of kids, commotion, and craziness, not just in relation to traveling, but snippets that cloud otherwise sunny days. Some mornings I just crave to hear that garage door opening to know that some sanity and understanding is about to walk through our kitchen door.
Even tonight. My husband was working and the girls and I went to go visit him. My day had turned almost sour around dinner time with trying to make dinner on my own while my younger one thought it would be fun to pour her sippy cup of milk onto her head, you get me, one of those days. We walk into his workplace (94 degree heat, a few hundred other people, loud, we'll go into his occupation some other time) and I was as happy as if I had just walked in to have a spa treatment. There is something about that man that calms my soul.
So tomorrow I start to pack for our "just girls" trip and there are a few things I can be sure of: lists will be flowing, I will be scooping out at least one overly excited little girl from a suitcase, and thankfully I know that my sanity is only a hug away.