A Far Birthday Trip - E
When we went on my 1 year old son’s birthday trip, my 7 year old daughter E had a great time overall. There were periods of fighting with her 5 year old brother C, but things never got too out of hand like they used to when we travelled. She also knows what to expect and usually sleeps in a bed with me while my wife is with our other two boys. Usually, I come out on top in the sleep arrangement, but I wasn’t so sure after this trip.
Most nights, E was a violent sleeper. She would kick randomly at night and wake me up. She would also roll around the bed nonstop all night long. When she woke up, she had no idea what whe did to me at night. It definitely led to rough patches of sleep for me, but you can’t complain too much on vacation I guess. It was good to just be next to her and even though it’s not the best sleep, I love being in the same room with the whole family.
E also is so adventurous. She loves swimming all over the place by herself and it’s fine in a swimming pool. In the open waters, that’s a different story. We went to a few beaches and the calm ones we were at, she wanted to swim out far to the sand bar. Luckily, we had been gifted a tube by another family leaving, so I got to put her and C on it while I swam out with them. I didn’t trust her without something that could keep her afloat and kept both of them really close. They loved riding the tides that came in and had a blast.
We also went to a beach with much bigger tides coming in. She was really excited and got in the tube right away. The tide flipped the tube over and we all fell down. I tried to make sure they didn’t get pulled out to sea. In the ruckus, her goggles slipped off her head and she realized she didn’t have them. Somehow, she reached down and grabbed them before the tide pulled them away. I’m still unsure of how she did that, but very thankful because those were some expensive goggles that have prescription on the lenses. Once they were humbled by the tides, they listened more and we went out there to bob in the giant up and down motions of the ocean. It was as much adventure as I wanted for me and some little kids.
What I’ll remember most is reading on the balcony with E and C when we were stuck in the hotel while my wife was putting our now 2 year old son L to sleep for his nap. She would stay with him and I would be outside on the balcony with our other kids. E wanted to read Wonder, which is a book about a kid with severe facial differences. It is from a different character’s perspective and I really enjoyed how the book progressed in that unique way. E loved the book and I read to her so much (especially when I didn’t have to work the second half of the trip). We read that book at night too and it’s one of those memories where if I see the book, I’ll remember this trip and spending time with her.
