Make a solid plan to follow while your on vacation and there will be nothing to worry about. You have the ability to get on SR pretty much whenever you want via a phone, and you also have the ability to leave any situation that might be overwhelming. Make sure your wife is aware of your apprehension so you can coordinate a way to leave if you need to.
Regarding the taper, don't worry about that until January 11th - there's nothing you can do about it until then anyway.