I have to admit that I'm tired of all of this traveling with Madeline, though she's a good little air passenger and I've vowed not to let it stress me all out anymore. The 3.5 hour time difference between here and Alberta is what wears us out, I think. Chris and I seemed to have assumed that she'd adjust her internal clock right away, but instead she was getting up for the day at 4:30 am local time (which is a respectable 8 am in Newfoundland). She was eating at the wrong times of day. Heck, we were eating dinner after her normal bedtime. That helps me to understand why she preferred throwing green beans and doing laps around the house instead of sitting in her chair and enjoying her meal. And she was, of course, going to bed much later than normal. I remember wishing that she'd be her normal self and being really frustrated with her behaviour, fearing that no one would recognize that she was acting out of exhaustation, instead of merely acting like a miniature caveperson. I imagine that Madeline was similarly frustrated with me. It's a tough situation, no? Anyway, it was good to come home.
It's weird to think that we'll be moving again next month. This place in St. John's will have been "Home" for over a year, and as much as I am looking forward to having a house of my own again, it feels really strange to leave this one. This is the first place that Madeline has named "Home", and she's grown-up in so many ways here. I'm doubtful that she remembers much about our real house, but I think that she'll have a happy reunion with her red wagon.
I'm kicking myself for not marking Madeline's height on the kitchen doorframe before we left Calgary. It would have been a treat to measure how much she's grown in the year that we've been away.
I know what you mean. When we moved here, we expected to be in this temporary house for maybe 6 months at the most. By the time our house is done, we'll have been here a year. Abby doesn't remember her first home. The house we brought her home from the hospital to. The house she took her first steps, and celebrated her first birthday and Christmas. It makes me sad to think that this house which we don't really think of as "home" is the first home she knows.
Posted by: Brandi | January 27, 2007 at 05:32 PM
Laura... no one thought that Madeline was a cave person. I personally wish that she would have let me hug her more often though. I actually got two compliments on my hugs this morning at church. That's right, 2 out of 4 hugs are recommended.
I am going to make Madeline a cave girl dress.
Posted by: majestyinc | January 28, 2007 at 11:38 AM
Brandi, that's exactly it!
Posted by: laura | January 31, 2007 at 09:44 AM