Stephen Colbert suggests that we all pick a favorite child, but not tell our children which one it is. That will keep them guessing...
I may not have picked a favorite child, but I did have to pick one to bring to France with us, and LoriS-C asked me how I made that choice. Which means someone else probably wondered, too, so here's the answer...
It's a combination of things. LK needs less sleep, and she is much better when skipping a nap or taking a short nap. She can also concentrate longer, so she'd be better on the plane...she can color or read books quietly for longer stretches. She is also smaller, by about 3 pounds, which makes her easier to carry when need be.
But she is also a little more high-strung...and more a creature of habit. MA kind of rolls with things, and I feel like she will just be a little bit easier to have away from home for that long. LK has also gotten into a bit of a habit of throwing tantrums over what amounts to essentially nothing, and I would rather not deal with that!
So, MA gets the prize and gets to come with us! And LK gets her Daddy all to herself, which she will enjoy very much. I'd be pretty surprised if she slept in her own bed more than half the time:-). I think The Boy is looking forward to it quite a bit...they may have a dinner date every single night...
It's the first time they have been apart for this long, so I have no idea how they will react. It will probably be weirder for LK, because she will still be at school with her friends and teachers, but no sister. For MA, everything will be so different that not having her sister may not be as notable. They will definitely miss each other, that's for sure!
Wednesday, August 07, 2013
Choosing Children
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4 comments:
When I was in high school, my mom had to choose one kid to take on her trip to Denver for her 30th high school reunion. The idea at the time was that she would take one kid each year, but that didn't really happen because my brothers are notoriously awful at setting aside free dates in advance.
I was chosen, not because I'm her favorite, but because (at the time) I liked her extended family the best. My brothers were more inclined to fight with one of my cousins or get angry with my very liberal aunt and uncle. OTOH, I wrote long letters to my grandmother routinely, and loved talking on the phone to my aunt, and absolutely adored my younger cousin.
Makes sense and how fun that they'll both have new experiences and one on one time with parents. Happy travels!
It should be an interesting experience, when you sort of divide and conquer! Good decision. Sounds like being in control is important to LK so having some consistency and routine should help...not that the tantrums will stop...
A couple tips based on my experiences, hit the dollar store and bring a bunch of little wrapped doodads for the plane ride. If you pull one out from time to time, you can avoid 6 consecutive hours of reading, "Brown, Bear" on the plane.... also, snacks.... a hungry toddler is not fun to be around... and most importantly, some photos of daddy and her sister. Now that skypeing is around,it may not be as important, but still a good thing to have. A little photo album of the family of your heart would be great....
Enjoy the trip!
Lori
God, I would love to come to Paris too. It's a wonderful city. And I haven’t seen Nice so that would be nice too. :-)
We are going on a 14 day trip to Scotland in September and I really can’t wait.
Have fun!
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