Vacation Time
First, this is the third time I’ve tried to write tonight. I sat down for what I thought would be “just a minute” because I have way too much to do before leaving on vacation tomorrow, but due to some technical difficulties, I keep getting booted off, losing what I’ve written.
All of that wit and brilliance lost in the world wide web forever.
Now that all of that is properly vented, let me start again by saying that I am very excited about our vacation! We are leaving tomorrow for the Outer Banks for a week with Casey’s folks. I keep having these awful feelings that we’re going to forget something important; maybe that’s why I made sure to pack all of Kenny’s things first: toys, books, diapers, lotions, clothes, stroller, bathtub, backpack, and blankets. I’m fairly certain that he could survive for at least a month anywhere, arctic or tropical, with all I’ve packed for him. I think I’ve packed ten times his body weight. And I haven’t even gotten to the sippy cups and plastic bowls yet.
Of course, the last time I packed for a trip and did Kenny first, I ended up forgetting to pack any of my bras. That was for our ten day trip to London and Oxford back in July. With the exchange rate being what it was, buying bras in London was not the most cost-effective plan I could have come up with. But my son had enough sweaters to take him to Norway and back! (Never mind the very unexpected heat wave that forced us instead to buy t-shirts and sunscreen. Who knew it could hit 95 degrees in England?)
I always get a case of the anxiety bug whenever I’m traveling anywhere. That could be the reason I’ve had four chocolate chip cookies in the last four minutes. Dudley doesn’t help, either. He gets frantic at the sight of suitcases (even though we almost always take him everywhere with us) and will frequently try to secretly bury a bone in the midst of the suitcase we are packing.
We spent the day today preparing for our trip by attending a Navy football tailgate party. What a blast! I have to admit that I was a little dubious about how much fun Kenny would have, but our little sport rose to the occasion and was a barrel of laughs.
Kenny is more fun by the day. His “little” personality is anything but little these days. This is a kid that likes to party. He watched the action with intent concentration, then chased after the other kids (though he was by far the youngest), running as fast as he could manage, all while gripping frantically to a miniature football. I was so proud of him as I watched him entertain himself and (unknowingly) the masses.
I couldn’t help but think tonight, as I was putting him to bed, about how much fun it is going to be to get to know him and watch him grow. Some days I forget how massive the world must seem to him; so much of every day is brand new, exciting, sometimes scary and always big. I’m so blessed to get to walk along side him, to hold his hand and to watch him experience it all.
I love this Mommy stuff.