Keeping it very short this week because we’re halfway through a three week visit back home to Toronto / Ontario, and the only time I have found to write this is in the car on the way from Toronto to Collingwood on a Sunday afternoon. A commitment is a commitment, and I know that missing one week would be the death of this newsletter. So, here we are.
What am I noticing so far on this trip?
How great it feels to see our families and to have them spend time with Ava. It would be hard to describe the feeling in my heart when I go in to get her up from a nap and she says “go see Gama Janet” or “go see cousins!”
How fortunate I am to have so many old friends. The kind of relationships where, in spite of the distance and the time between visits, we pick up right where we left off each time we see each other.
How much of a negative impact alcohol makes on my mood and energy. I started off saying that I wouldn’t drink at all on this trip, knowing that summer visits can lead to casually drinking almost every day. Now we’re halfway through the trip and I’ve let myself have a single drink on two separate occasions. Both times I’ve felt so exhausted and moody the next day it was kind of crazy.
How much stuff is required to travel with a toddler. Just when I got my own packing really dialed in and broke a lifelong habit of overpacking, now I’m carting around a pack and play, a slumberpod, a travel high chair, a massive sleeve of diapers, and 18 million books.
How much light and temperature affect my sleep. Last night, sleeping in the darkest and coldest (and probably quietest) room I’ve slept in since we arrived, I had the best sleep I’ve had in weeks.
How much rest / down time is required on these longer haul very social visits. Even just taking a long shower or having a quiet hour to myself makes a world of difference.
How resilient and adaptable Ava is. She’s slept in three separate places so far on this trip, and there are two more to come. Each time I get her bed set up and her tucked in for the night, she falls peacefully asleep with her bears and her blanket and wakes up happy the next morning. She’s woken us up crying in the middle of the night twice on this trip, but given the circumstances, it seems pretty mild.
How each time I get frustrated with myself for not doing something better or planning it differently, I let it go and think “I’ll do that better next time around!”
How much I love summer nights.