Getting over the Hump

I have to admit that yesterday was a rough day and I do feel a little guilty about posting the following on my Facebook page, "Drinking a beer at a kid park on Sunday is probably a no-no, huh?! Oh well, it's better than screaming at my child because that was next! Just call it a no-nap 3 year old who can't stop whining!" However, thanks to a few friends whose comments made me laugh and feel better, I now do have to admit that really, truly, we have gotten over a big hump here at our house.

If you recall, when we returned from our ski trip in April, Sydney had turned into what I would consider a demon child (see April posts). In fact, I was dreading the trip to Florida we had a few weeks ago because I was going to be with my child, alone, for four days. Our family would be there, but Jason had to go to Las Vegas for work and so once he left I knew it would be all me. But you know what…we did OK! In fact, we had fun. Can you believe it? I couldn’t. No tantrums, no hitting, minimal time outs, we actually had fun! OMG, have we hit a new place?

Maybe so.  And how?  I must say I just set my mind to being patient, calm and accepting of Sydney, even when she was not being those things. It was hard, but it felt like once I made that decision and just kept it in mind, we did OK. In fact, we visited Sea World with Mimi (my mom), Busch Gardens with Grandmama (Jason’s mom) and Mimi and swam in two pools. Maybe Sydney was just so exhausted from everything we did that she didn’t have time to freak out?! No, I think she really did do we well and it made me really happy to actually have fun with my daughter.  She really is at a fun age with the things she says and the things she can connect now.

So the good news...we don’t have to avoid all vacations in the future, although believe me Mommy and Daddy need some time away (we have that in the works). That’s also something I’ve learned…you (the parents) gotta get away, too, for everyone's sanity!