"I'll See You One Overnight and..." 

It's time for the annual holiday rearranging of the kid visitation schedule.  

No matter how much we try to nail things down for the entire year at the beginning of the year, well - schedules change.  Events get moved hither and yon.  Commitments get dropped, new ones get added in, and all sorts of other variables join in to make the party a merry one.  

Thankfully, my ex and I are both flexible sorts, and the kids are at the age where they don't freak out if the routine changes or expectations need to get re-set.  

So when I got the apologetic email today from my ex asking for the kids on a day when I'd tentatively planned an out of town trip  with them (to his knowledge, anyway), it was easy to reassure him that we'd make it work out, and I could always leave a day or two later.  

And when he learned that my company holiday party was this Saturday (a night I have the kids), he's now rearranging his schedule to see if he can take them overnight (even though my son's old enough to babysit my daughter, it's not an ideal situation.)  

Sure, it's best if we can stick to a schedule.  But it's also important to keep that goodwill flowing both ways by being flexible, accommodating and gracious where possible.  

Especially when it means you might get an extra kid-free evening or two out of the deal when you really need it!