It’s time to get this blog rolling! We’ve been on more vacation in the last month than the last two years combined, and while it’s been fun and just what we needed, the comfort of home feels really good.
Have you noticed how everything seems a little out of sorts when you travel? I sure do. My soap is in a different place, my coffee is not the same, even my sleep patterns are different, especially with time zone changes. The newness of a different place is invigorating and makes me feel alive and alert and clear, but that same alertness carries an underlying level of energy, an expenditure I don’t usually carry in my daily life.
That’s what happens to my girl, and not just on vacation. It feels like any disruption in her routine creates a level of stress and then fatigue as she navigates any new situation. For me, change makes me feel alive, but for her it’s part of her daily life. When something new is thrown in, it takes all she’s got to manage it.
On a good day surrounded by people and things she loves, it’s a happy exhaustion at the end of the day. On a challenging day when things are out of sorts, it’s a day of frustration or retreat into herself or in front of the tv. (Yeah, not my favorite either, but for her it is an escape.)
So in the end, this vacation time taught me:
1. Vacation is good, especially when it comes with family and friends.
2. Less is more. Doing less is way more fun for everyone. It gives my girl less to navigate, which means she has more energy to focus on the fun stuff.
3. Routine is good, even on vacation. Some structure like having the toothpaste in the same spot and the same bedtime routine are grounding and familiar to all of us.
4. I have a new appreciation for how routine supports my girl and her ability to navigate her life. If a little r & r throws me off a bit, I can only imagine the chaos she feels when life throws a curveball of any size into her schedule.
I am newly aware of the value of schedule for my girl, and rather than become frustrated with her need to know every detail of her day, her clothes, her play date, sometimes in triplicate, today I will see with new eyes the peace it gives her, the absolute basic need I am filling for her.
It is not my way, it is hers. Today I ask for the grace to see the ease that routine, planning and plenty of information give my girl so that we all can enjoy our day.
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