things I realized while traveling with my toddler

I realized that my daughter and I are a lot alike in the following ways:

1. We both struggle with transitions (what toddler doesn’t?). I don’t exactly get in a funk about the fact that it’s time to leave the playground, or get into or out of the car… but I can’t seem to keep it together when fun is over! I bawled like a baby on the plane back from Turkey, got upgraded to first class when leaving Nepal on Thai airlines because my sobbing was ridiculous, and for Christ’s sake can I not even leave Canada (like, down the street) without getting into a funk? Nope, I can’t. Post-travel or post-fun blues are just what I do.
2. We are both triggered, in good ways and bad, by traveling. M is in her element exploring brand new places and diving into a new routine. So am I. When we come home, we wrestle with the lack of stimulation, the lack of something to look forward to, and the lack of whatever it was we enjoyed while we were away. M is a champ on any trip, but wait for it… we both crash and burn the week after! It has happened every time!
3. More fun = harder crash. The more amazing the experience, the worse we are a few days later. We can’t seem to manage our exhaustion or our let-down without some kind of inner (me) or outer (her) temper-tantrum. Even when not traveling, we’re always going somewhere, doing something new. Neither of us looks forward to just being at home, unless it’s for a limited amount of time.

I kind of feel like I gave birth to this child, or at least transplanted my genetics to her!

All that being said, my kiddo was a dream on the trip, just like in Germany. I was seriously one proud mom. She’s polite, she’s compassionate, she makes new friends everywhere, and she tries new things eagerly. She’s cool with being in a strange bed and she even handled what turned into a 7+ hour roadtrip with as much patience as I did! She’s just so much fun! I foresee so many great mommy-daughter trips in our future!

Since she’s so much like me, I bet that tomorrow we’re going to sit down and make a list of possible next adventures. Repeats welcome!!!

Author: Mother of All Things

Mother by fostering, adoption, and marriage... wife to my best friend... Bay area critical care nurse... travel in my blood, reading in my bones, clean food on my mind! View all posts by Mother of All Things