The Toddler Factor
Travelling with a toddler is not for the faint of heart. Especially when your vacation is 2 ½ weeks long. With stops in at least four states and overnight stays in no less than six different locations. Foolhardy? Maybe. Interesting? Definitely.
Take for example the day my nephew Daren ran into the house screaming that Lia was naked. A quick look out the window showed her streaking across my parents’ yard in all her buff glory. She said she had to pee. Interesting.
Speaking of pee, there was the time we were on I-80 headed through Pennsylvania. We stopped for a sanity break and Lia downed a whole bottle of water and half a bottle of soda. Keep in mind that her bladder is about the size of a gumball. Nevertheless, she didn’t feel the need to go until we were stuck at a standstill on the freeway moving 2 miles per hour. And the next exit was 9 miles. Suzanna quickly solved the problem: she shoved a diaper underneath Lia and said “If you have to go, just go in your pants.” But we had reached the stage in her potty training where she didn’t want to pee her pants. Great timing. So she held it for the next hour, ran with mommy into the bathroom, and just made it on the potty before she exploded. A very grand success.
Then there was the day at the playground in Brooklyn. Lia met a girl who was a year older. She was “baking” sand into jelly doughnuts that Lia couldn’t touch. The doughnuts were hot and would burn her. Lia patiently waited until the little girl left. Then she proceeded to make her own baked goods, which now I could not touch. They were hot. Monkey see, monkey do.
Of course, Lia was not the only interesting part of our vacation. And, believe it or not, our vacation was not grueling. Suzanna said it felt the way a vacation should feel. It was a trip of discovery. Discovering family again and old friends. Discovering interesting places and new people. Moving at our own pace. Being gone just long enough that, when we reached the last day, we were ready to come home.
Take for example the day my nephew Daren ran into the house screaming that Lia was naked. A quick look out the window showed her streaking across my parents’ yard in all her buff glory. She said she had to pee. Interesting.
Speaking of pee, there was the time we were on I-80 headed through Pennsylvania. We stopped for a sanity break and Lia downed a whole bottle of water and half a bottle of soda. Keep in mind that her bladder is about the size of a gumball. Nevertheless, she didn’t feel the need to go until we were stuck at a standstill on the freeway moving 2 miles per hour. And the next exit was 9 miles. Suzanna quickly solved the problem: she shoved a diaper underneath Lia and said “If you have to go, just go in your pants.” But we had reached the stage in her potty training where she didn’t want to pee her pants. Great timing. So she held it for the next hour, ran with mommy into the bathroom, and just made it on the potty before she exploded. A very grand success.
Then there was the day at the playground in Brooklyn. Lia met a girl who was a year older. She was “baking” sand into jelly doughnuts that Lia couldn’t touch. The doughnuts were hot and would burn her. Lia patiently waited until the little girl left. Then she proceeded to make her own baked goods, which now I could not touch. They were hot. Monkey see, monkey do.
Of course, Lia was not the only interesting part of our vacation. And, believe it or not, our vacation was not grueling. Suzanna said it felt the way a vacation should feel. It was a trip of discovery. Discovering family again and old friends. Discovering interesting places and new people. Moving at our own pace. Being gone just long enough that, when we reached the last day, we were ready to come home.
posted by Brent | 1:31 PM
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