Sask vs BC

We have now been here for 21 years. In some ways it seems like just yesterday, in other ways it seems like a lifetime. We have tried over the years, to go back to Sask to visit family every year or year and a half. We have tried countless number of times to convince our families to come and visit us for a change instead of always us going back east. We keep telling everyone that gas costs the same, it takes the same amount of hours to drive, it takes the same planning to save money and book vacation time away from work etc. But it never seems to work.

This year alone these are family events that have come our way to go to Sask:
-I went back to my mom's in February to help her get to doctors etc as she had been ill and I was very worried
-Keith's dad's 80th birthday party May long weekend
-one of our nephew's wedding August long weekend
-One of my uncle's and aunt's 50th anniversary September long weekend
-the daughter of a very close friend of ours wedding mid September

Every time we fly back it costs us over $1000.00 between airfare, hotels, food etc. Because of my spine and FM, I do not do well in other beds. I don't even do well in my own bed. I pace a lot most nights..it hurts to lay down so after an hour or so I am up for a couple of hours then back to bed for another hour or two and the night goes on. Because of that, it is very difficult to sleep at someone's home and stay quiet. Which means hotels so I can move around without waking up other people.

No matter how we work it, we are going to hurt someone's feelings at not being able to attend something. We are going to get "well you went to that one why can't you come to this one". And that is not even taking into consideration our own immediate family's needs. We have not seen our one son and his family since May of last year.

In an ideal world we would all live in the same small town with everyone within walking distance. In the real world Keith and I continue to play the eenie miney mo game and wait for family to switch roles with us and come west for our family events.