During and Post-Vacation
Raina easily managed the DC trip; according to Samantha, Raina only needed consoling once. That is an excellent track record, and we couldn't be happier. Turns out, her parents may have had more separation anxiety and sadness, but we all survived just fine.
After finishing the DC trip, the Whomptons loaded up the car and headed to Nashville. Raina knew we were taking a trip, and she was excited to do very big person things like choosing which shirts to wear for the week and which toys to take in the car. I had to convince her to take more toys; she settled on three things, which, honestly, may have been all she used during the trip.
The journey to Nashville was uneventful. Raina consumed a lot of food, took a nap, and then consumed more food. She was exceedingly overjoyed to be with Papa Bill, Mama Jo, Emily, and Stephanie again, and she chattered and played with trains and looked at books and was generally endearing. The lake house fascinated her too. Not only was there a glorious view of scenery but there were a number of boats (very cool!), rocking chairs, a hammock, plenty of food, and lots of adoring adults. We went on a boat, which excited Raina initially, but really served to terrify her for a few hours. Once we stopped the boat all was well. We swam in the lake and circled around the boat and followed a duck and shouted at Jerry and basked in nature. The next day involved swimming in a not-so-lovely part of the lake, building and destroying sand structures, and climbing all over a playground. After that, Raina mostly stayed indoors (poison ivy was rampant!) and enjoyed her forays out to the screened-in porch or the deck. Most of all, Raina reveled in the experience because her family was with her.
After finishing the DC trip, the Whomptons loaded up the car and headed to Nashville. Raina knew we were taking a trip, and she was excited to do very big person things like choosing which shirts to wear for the week and which toys to take in the car. I had to convince her to take more toys; she settled on three things, which, honestly, may have been all she used during the trip.
The journey to Nashville was uneventful. Raina consumed a lot of food, took a nap, and then consumed more food. She was exceedingly overjoyed to be with Papa Bill, Mama Jo, Emily, and Stephanie again, and she chattered and played with trains and looked at books and was generally endearing. The lake house fascinated her too. Not only was there a glorious view of scenery but there were a number of boats (very cool!), rocking chairs, a hammock, plenty of food, and lots of adoring adults. We went on a boat, which excited Raina initially, but really served to terrify her for a few hours. Once we stopped the boat all was well. We swam in the lake and circled around the boat and followed a duck and shouted at Jerry and basked in nature. The next day involved swimming in a not-so-lovely part of the lake, building and destroying sand structures, and climbing all over a playground. After that, Raina mostly stayed indoors (poison ivy was rampant!) and enjoyed her forays out to the screened-in porch or the deck. Most of all, Raina reveled in the experience because her family was with her.
Come Sunday, it was time to depart and all the Comptons packed up and loaded cars. We decided it would be better for Raina to ride with Papa Bill and Mama Jo on the way back to Nashville, a short one hour drive. We knew she'd be a little upset about the split, so we prepped her in advance. It didn't work. She clutched to her parents, repeatedly said, "Mommy and Daddy go in black car. Raina go black car too!", and then cried when we told her that we weren't traveling together. She wailed but didn't resist when we buckled her into her carseat, and that was the most heart-breaking part of all. Luckily, she was asleep within minutes -- naptime coordinating with emotional exhaustion -- and then was ecstatic to see her parents arrive in Nashville as well. The next day we left for St. Louis and Raina made it very clear that she was coming in the black car this time, no exceptions! This trip was the first time Raina ever said "I wanna go home."
Comments