The Post Where I Over-Analyze the NYC Trip

After having this week to muse on and over-analyze our trip, I'm not so sure taking the trip was the best idea. After a weekend that was easy and fun, Monday was hard and painful. Taking care of children, especially little children, is so difficult. They want so much. They need so much. They cry. They spit up incessantly. They whine ("Mom, your choices are to (1) eat at Axton's or (2) eat at Wendy's." This after leaving Axton's and driving by a Wendy's on the way home to get our own, apparently, un-exciting lunch). It's exhausting. I am sorry to admit that I was excited when Chuck's Monday afternoon golf game was cancelled because I just couldn't parent any more; but sadly, neither could Chuck! What a sorry lot we were. We were on such a high on Sunday, but man, Monday was just rough. Even our dinner was sad! (Please don't judge the dinner. I had planned this for Sunday because it was easy and maybe a step up from cold cereal. But Sunday we were treated with dinner at my in-laws' home, so this got bumped to Monday.)


To be completely honest, I was a little depressed. (Rain and no morning run added to that depression. Do you know that since the flood, I loathe rain? Loathe. Abhor. Despise.) And when I thought about how truly wonderful my life is (I have a beautiful healthy family, a good job, a cute house I can afford, candy in the candy bucket, etc.) it made me feel guilty and then more depressed for even daring to feel depressed at all!

I don't know. Maybe the answer to this problem isn't to never do it. Maybe the answer is to do it more. That way, the difficult Mondays aren't as hard because we know that we'll soon get the opportunity again. Next time, however, we just need to swap with a family whose kids are all in college.

P.S. I will state that one of my favorite suggestions to give to people when traveling is to always clean your house before you leave. I did this on Friday and on Sunday when we came home tired and wanting sleep, the house was clean. Counters wiped, dishes put away, clean sheets on the bed. It made the return-home letdown just a teensy bit better.

P.P.S. Look how much fun Rhett and Ollie had without us! Thanks to Jim and Sarah for swapping with us and for documenting the weekend WAY better than we did theirs!