We weren’t planning to visit home this summer. I wanted to wait, until the fall or the winter, until the time of year when we most miss our family. I also wanted to wait until we had saved up some more vacation time — when we come, I want to be able to stay as long as possible.

I was thinking of coming home for Thanksgiving, or maybe Christmas, or maybe even Halloween, since we don’t get much of a Halloween celebration here. Christmas sounds the most tempting, because it’s a tough time to be away from home, but then, do I want to spend what might be our last Austrian Christmas away from Austria? (Of course, THAT was our reasoning for not going home this past Christmas, too.)

Mostly, though, we were pretty sure it wouldn’t be a summer visit. But then, while making our other summer plans, deciding when and where to travel, figuring out which weeks B will miss from school, Benjamin informed us that what he wants to do most for his birthday (in July) is go home to the US.

We were there last year for his birthday. We went to the beach, and had a fantastic time. There was sun, sand, surfing lessons, mini-golf, kite flying, cake, balloons, ice cream, and lots and lots of family. It was definitely wonderful.

So I don’t blame him for wanting to go home again. I just don’t know if we can make it happen. (In addition to vacation time issues, the financial aspect of a US trip in July vs. one in December is pretty different, in a much more expensive way.)

So now, we’re not sure. We’re working things out, but I don’t know what’s possible. I want to make his birthday wish come true, if we can . . . but I think he’d like waking up at Grandma’s house on Christmas morning, too. Whatever we do, it’ll be wonderful to be home . . . whenever we go.