Mt Rainier to Italy in 6 Years

Six summers ago our family took a trip to Washington and Oregon.  While there, we spent a few days with some old friends in a cabin on Mt. Rainier - I think there were 3 other couples.  We talked about the future and the milestone half-century mark to be celebrated by a couple of the guys in 2010.  I promised Tom that we would spend his 50th birthday in Italy, Tuscany specifically.  I was pregnant with Q, so I can't even blame it on alcohol - I made the vow and there was no going back.

Last year I began, in my typical advance planning fashion, to try to organize the long promised trip.  I touched base with the individuals remaining from the disintegrated couples, and everyone was verbally on board with the trip.  I found an awesome villa, at a terrific price, in a location which I thought would suit all involved and sent some more emails out to the crew.  That's when things started to go wrong. 

Have you ever planned a group trip?  This was my first, as well as last, attempt at putting together a trip for anyone other than my immediate family.  The first problem was the date - it didn't work for one couple due to their own responsibilities.  Understood and accepted, however, since the trip was in honor of Tom's birthday, there really wasn't much I could do (without a time machine and the ability to go back to 1959 when he was conceived) to alter the date.  Sorry.  The next issue was that the space wasn't large enough to accommodate everyone.  Ok, how about if the folks who need more room than is available, locate a nearby place?  Wouldn't that be easy enough?  But, no, the demise of the original crew had begun and there was no stopping the death spiral as it headed towards Earth.  What a buzz kill.

Despite all the nonsense - the lack of commitment, the sometimes hurt feelings, the disappointment, the realizations about who you can truly count on, this trip is finally happening.  Next week we fly to Tuscany to stay in that lovely villa with three friends and three Lilly boys, of course.  And we are going to have a fantastic time.  More details to follow.