Goodbye to Me Time
There is a lot on the financial plate coming up. The decision to send LatteGirl to private school is going to set us back to the tune of $4K per year. Then there is the planned trip to Disney World in the spring. Of course, we lucked out last winter but to say that with oil prices where they are winter has me scared would be an understatement.
So, I did the only thing I could and took on a second client. The timing is pretty good because my current primary client is dragging their collective heels in funding the project and dragging things out. So, I worked out a deal to telecommute to client one and work “as needed” while taking on client 2. Oh, and Client 2 will be adding a couple of hours of commute time to my day.
That means I will be spending about 12 hours a day with client 2, between work and commute, to come home, spend some time with LatteGirl, and once she is in bed, logging in and working on tasks for Client 1. But I see no reason I can’t get a solid 3 to 5 hours sleep a night. So everything should be fine right?
Battling Shyness
I alluded to it in the vacation recap, but really I have been glossing over it. LatteGirl is shy in new surroundings. She easily (for the most park) makes friends when she warms up and lets her guard down. But the time it takes for her to “warm up” in any given situation seems to have gotten worse and not better.
Now, we finally got to the bottom of part of it. It seems that one girl at summer camp that happen to be friends with some of the same people as LatteGirl, was a bit of a bully to her. She didn’t like my little angel and this girl did not have any problem letting LatteGirl know it. LatteGirl has not so far really encountered such a situation where a person she was willing to befriend, simply did not like her and there was nothing she could do about it.
After finally getting this information out during a discussion one day during vacation, she did warm up around some of the kids at the resort. So, I can only assume that her understanding that not everybody is going to like her (something she could only ask “Why?” to, but seemed to finally accept), put her a bit more at ease. But I fear the underlying problem continues.
Part of the problem I suppose is that outside of school/daycare she has very little interaction with other kids. This of course leads to the problem of Mommy and Daddy having to also fill the role of “friend” most of the time. Which leads to her depending and expecting Mommy and Daddy to play that role, plus it is one she knows and is comfortable with. So she shys away (at first) from others.
It is frustrating. It is a problem easily identified. It is a problem that is easy to find the root cause. But it is one that I am perplexed as to how to solve. I thought things like getting her involved in dance classes would help, since there were several girls that she already knew from Pre-K in the class, she built on her relationships with those girls and even with the recitals continued to hide.
Starting a new school in the fall may help a bit, but that of course depends on who or how many previous friends are in the same class. She will start dance classes again, but many of the same kids will be in that class, so I don’t know how much that will change anything. TheWife has tried to get her interested in a few other things such as gymnastics and soccer, but we have to contend one with the fact that she has expressed zero to less than zero interest and two we do not want to wind up making her one of those “overscheduled” children that are always running somewhere, but rarely excel at any one thing because they have their hands in too many things.
Do you have a shy child (or one that has broken out of their “shell”)? How do you deal with it?
Latte Man – Decaffeinated
Expectations. We all have them. How they taint your experience has a huge impact on how you perceive things. I have gone plenty of places, with amenities much more posh and elegant than are offered by Chestnut Grove, the location of our family vacation this year.
But with those amenities comes a price tag. And with the higher price tag usually comes greater expectations. Now I had expectations when we departed for our vacation this year. In many ways these expectations were far tougher ones to meet. They were colored with fond memories of childhood vacations. Of happy family times. Distant memories that often are far more wonderful in your memory than the events actually were. This is a tall order to meet, and I tried to temper this as best as I could. But as it turns out, I really didn’t need to do so. This vacation turned out to be everything that I had been dreaming of since we made our reservations.
If I however, had come in expecting accommodations as posh as say, when the wife and I went to Ceasar’s Pocono Palace, or some expensive upscale hotel, I may have come away disappointed. If you only stay at 5 star hotels, this may not be the place for you. This is a basic family place. The accommodations are simple, comfortable, and bit understated. But this is exactly what I wanted and expected. This was not a vacation about staying in your room (as I will explain shortly), but your room was simply a place to get some sleep, a shower and refresh yourself to continue on with your vacation.
TheWife was concerned when we initially considered this destination that it would be boring. She scoured the Internet for nearby things to do and see. As it turned out, we left the resort only once, for a shopping excursion to The Crossings Premium Outlets and The Christmas Factory. Plans to hit places such as Camelbeach Waterpark and several other places got put on hold, at least for this year.
The only problem we encountered along the way, was LatteGirl’s decision to be shy and clingy. She was reluctant to socialize with the other kids, preferring to spend her time clung to either mommy or daddy. So in an effort to keep her entertained and to get some relaxation ourselves, we essentially wound up taking turns in being the person she clung to. She would play with Mommy or sit by and watch as I played Volleyball, Softball, etc. LatteGirl and I would usually hit the pool as Mommy got her time alone to take a walk, or just some time to read one of the books she brought along etc. We also put her to work as our ball-girl for some early morning tennis. (It is times like this that I wonder about her whole allowance situation. When we started it, we informed her that “standard chores” were expected and that she was not going to be paid for them, but that things “above and beyond” would allow her to earn additional money. Thus I wound up paying her $2 per day for her additional task of being our ball-girl). If you have to run into a problem on vacation, and this is it, then I would say luck is on your side.
Evenings, brought their own entertainment. Each night they had something like Bingo or “Cruise Ship Horse racing.” Those were followed by a DJ that was as much an entertainer as he usually had games and gifts for the kids, or a magician or karaoke. Things wound down usually by midnight, which was fine, because by then everybody was ready for bed.
I would say that I was very well rested on this vacation. But that would only be true of my brain. With no Internet access, and spotty connections from Verizon Wireless. I was truely unplugged for the first time in about 12 years. Physically however was a different story. I have not been terribly active since tearing a tendon in my ankle a few years back, and I pushed myself this week. I know I mentioned it earlier, but for an aging out of shape guy, my schedule of tennis, volleyball, swimming, softball, swimming and then “going out” that evening is enough for ONE day, but I managed to keep this pace up for 5 days (a bit slower on arrival day, and departure day is a story unto itself for tomorrow). So while the brain is fresh and rejuvenated, the body wants another week to recuperate. But I wouldn’t trade the pain for anything in the world.
It wasn’t the most classy. It isn’t the type of place that sparks comments of “WOW.” What it is, is a place that delivers exactly what it promises. It meeets expecations of a pleasant family vacation destination. A good time was had by all, and 51 weeks from now, we will do it again.
Back in the saddle
Well, as is usual in such situations, I must make the time honored comment that the vacation seemed to fly by and was not nearly as long as I would like it to have been. Oh, and I can’t forget the timeless classic, I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.
As cliche as these statements are, there is a reason they have become such staples that you can be sure you will hear them from anybody returning from vacation. That reason is, that they are usually true.
But the upside to that truth is, that the reason for it is usually because you had a good time. And that certainly was the case here. To say we had a blast would be a serious understatement. We had such a great trip, we booked the same room and same week for next year. This coming from people that have never done anything exactly the same twice is quite a testament to how great we thought everything was.
We were so busy enjoying ourselves, I have far too few photos to share (but will share what few we did take as soon as I can get an opportunity), because we rarely stopped long enough to think about spending time posing for pictures, or even bothering to bring the camera along.
I have lots of details to share, but precious little time as I attempt to get back to the grind of work, and the dozens of e-mails and meeting requests that have piled up while I was away, so details of the trip and more will follow as time allows, at least until I am back in the saddle.
No Signal
Everything is fabulous and everyone thus far is having a blast, but an Internet connection is hard to come by so posting will be at best sporadic until we get back to civilization.
-
Sponsors
