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mara williams
on May 21 2013 - 06:00 AM
Summer break has this mom on a house upkeep war path.
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Our girls are super troopers when it comes to traveling. We’re on day 11 of our annual 15-day southwestern library tour. We’ll cover about 2,500 miles to eight different towns, perform 15 shows, and stay in seven different hotels or friends’ homes.
In between shows we try to maintain a “normal” schedule and have some fun. Lyda, our five-year-old, was especially excited to go fishing on this trip. Two days in a row she asked me to set the alarm, so we could rise early in the mountains of northern New Mexico and get out to the river. She didn’t catch anything with her Dora the Explorer fishing pole, but was diligent about learning how to cast.
Also, we toured some 900-year-old Anasazi ruins. We ducked through little doorways and explored the living rooms of an ancient civilization. The girls were fascinated by the fact that real people used to live there and were eager to ask the ranger where the Anasazi went to the bathroom.
And we hiked through the Jemez mountains up to an amazing natural hot spring where we soaked while gazing out on a gorgeous mountain vista.
So, after all of that, Jeni asked the girls what their favorite part of the trip was so far, and Lyda said, “Watching ‘Sleeping Beauty’ in the hotel room!”
Huh? Is that really what she’s going to remember 20 years from now? Did she just miss all of the stuff I just mentioned? She can watch Sleeping Beauty any time at home. Did I misread her enthusiasm for outdoor adventure? Jeni and I thought they were having fun. Maybe they were just humoring us, and we should chalk this up as another in a series of parental failures.
I couldn’t help but think of that old David Letterman line, “I do and I do and I do for you kids, and this is the thanks that I get?”
After I got over being stunned and a bit hurt, I realized that in the eyes of a five-year-old, watching a movie cuddled up on a hotel bed in a strange place is pretty exciting. If nothing else, it was a moment of familiarity in the midst of a week of trying new things and meeting new people and sleeping in a different bed nearly every night. It was comfortable and relaxing and something we really don’t do at home very often.
In the end, I guess it doesn’t matter what we do or where we go or what we see or how many miles we drive to get there. What matters most is that we’re together as a family, having fun and making memories in ways we don’t even realize.
I think a lot of it i just being together. I know for my kids, they alway loved the pool time at the hotel. Always made me wonder if I just had a pool at home, we wouldn't need to go anywhere. But, I am sure they would just get bored with that.That sounds like something my 5 yr old daughter would say. Every night snuggle and do what was your favorite part of the day/least favorite part of the day with each other. I am amazed on the things she says especially on days that we do some pretty cool stuff, that isn't what she says is the favorite part of the day. They are funny little people.Jim, when Kate was young I took her to Las Vegas on a business trip with me. They have so many kid friendly things to do and our days were jammed with them- when I asked what her favorite part of the trip was, she said "Watching I Love Lucy in our room because I had you all to myself." When I thought about it, I had to agree with her. Nothing beats cuddling together at the end of the day.
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