The kids have been counting down the days all week. The energy around our house is off the charts. They are so excited for our first ever trip to the snow.
They already know not to eat yellow snow - a wise piece of advice passed on by the local coffee shop barista (I'm telling you, they're excited - they're telling everyone). They also have an idea of how to make a good snowball and can't wait for a snowball fight (no throwing in face - not nice). Last night a box of snow clothes arrived in the mail from my parents who live up in Idaho where nearly brand new snow clothes are easy to find in local thrift shops. When I got home two little bundled up Ethiopians bounced out to greet me.
While I am super excited to reconnect with friends from grad. school that we never see this weekend, I am working a bit harder to totally embrace the excitement of the upcoming trip. There's that part of my brain that knows that after a big weekend where all routine gets thrown out the window, one of our kids usually comes crashing down in a unavoidably loud and explosive way for (sometimes) weeks afterwards.
Our therapist was pretty pushy with me last week. She wants me to grieve our past life and accept our new normal - to make our world smaller for our kids that can't handle sometimes even the simple things that are out there. Where's the middle ground though? How do we continue to give our kids these enriching experiences - like a trip to see snow for the first time - keep our sanity as adults that are addicted to the myriad of adventures the world has to offer (and hopefully pass that addiction on to E and A), and give our kids what they need too? I think the answer lies somewhere in the exceptions. Keep their wold small on the whole, make exceptions for the big things, know what the consequences will be when you return home, and just go with it without getting too bent out of shape about it. I'll use this weekend to test this philosophy. We'll see how it goes.
I hope you guys have a wonderful time playing in the snow and that your theory holds true when you come home!
ReplyDeleteOh boy. This is something I think about all. the. time. We're so used to going wherever we want, whenever we want. It works for us. But now I think about how disruptive that will be for the new little dudes. I know life will change, but I'm sure I will grieve our old life, too. I completely understand wanting to provide new experiences for them while still providing some semblance of routine and normalcy. So go ahead and get this all figured out. Then write a post about it for me. ;)
ReplyDeleteThat's more or less my strategy. Chose carefully what really merits breaking the routine and prepare for the post-event crash. I think that in ten years, we will remember the adventures clearly and savour those memories while the recovery period will fade from our minds. Have a wonderful time and take care of yourself upon return!
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