So Long Vacation

Today is my last official day of vacation.  It was the first thing I thought about when I woke up.  I am so sad to leave my carefree time with Munchkie to get back into our routine of work, sleep, babysitter, busy days off.  Obviously Munchkie has no idea that I'm going back to work tomorrow night so she was surprisingly indulgent in my constant request for hugs and kisses, even volunteering them without request.

I started the day (when we came home from taking Munchkie's Daddy to work) with some scrambled eggs which Munchkie "helped" me make.  We actually didn't make too much of a mess either!  We also read close to a thousand books together after coloring.  Each book finished with an enthusiastic "more? more?"  As many times as she was saying more, I was saying "give Mommy a kiss!" 

During naptime the, oh-shoot-my-vacation-ends-and-I-didn't-get-anything-done part of me kicked in. Unfortunately I only was able to do dishes and laundry until I heard "Moooooooommyyyyyyyy!"  Bummer!  So much for those sewing projects, organizational projects and crafts I had planned.

Since Munchkie thinks that every fish is "Dorty" (Elmo's goldfish Dorothy), there has been some talk of bringing a fish into our home.  I decided today was the perfect day.  Secretly, I just wanted her delight to keep me going until the next vacation.  As soon as we turned into the parking lot of the pet store Munchkie immediately started kicking her legs and saying "Dorty!  Dorty!"  (shocking because we had been over a month ago and walked from another store).  We parked Munchkie in front of the goldfish and began picking out a tank.  The selected one went into the cart and by this time Munchkie had  apparently had her Dorothy fix, asking "Kitty?" Are you serious?  I'm not even kidding when I say it was over a month ago that we went to this pet store and she remembered everything!  Even pointing in the direction of the cats for adoption.  The time came to involve a fish expert and I said "We need a goldfish along with everything it needs.  Here's the tank we picked out."  We soon learned that our measly one gallon tank would only keep that 13 cent goldfish alive for days.  Well no wonder those carnival goldfish die so fast!  The lady told us that unless we wanted to get a 10 gallon tank (ummm, no way!) a beta was our only option.  We held a beta up and I said "Munchkie look at this!"

To which she replied "Hi Dorty!" SOLD!  We excitedly paid for our fish and I warded off the bop (pacifier) the whole way home with, "Look!  Look!  Who's this?" 

I think that overall I was waaaaaay more excited about this adventure than Munchkie was, but we got home and immediately set up the tank.  I followed all the directions, holding Munchkie the whole time so she could see what I was doing.  Dorothy then went to her (his actually, the males were prettier) designated spot, just beyond a toddler's reach. 

I know that today's experiences meant a lot more to me than it did to Munchkie.  I'm learning that as a parent, sometimes you do something you say is for your kids when in actuality it is for you.  I really needed a night of excitement, anticipation and pure joy to be left with happy memories.  Not that I didn't have a wonderful vacation, because I sincerely loved every minute with Munchkie.  The last day of vacation is always so depressing, and I was able to distract myself and ignore the sinking feeling that tomorrow, everything will be back to everyday life.