Whew!

Traveling with a toddler is exhausting. I’m trying to figure out why it feels more challenging than being at home. Perhaps because at home we have a routine and he doesn’t require constant attention. Here I feel like we are constantly attending to his needs. It gets tiring to always be on call.

Mark and I decided to take turns covering the afternoon nap. Today I got to leave the room while Mark stays with him and tomorrow we’ll reverse it. I was so tired after a fun but long morning at the aquarium, followed by lunch, a walk near the port and ice cream, that I wanted to sleep too. But I what I really needed was a break from being on call – from the risk of River not going to sleep, of calling out, of needing something.

I’m sitting in an armchair near the hotel elevator. I had thoughts of taking a walk, visiting a park, doing something productive. Instead, I’ve just wasted time on the internet. And I’m still tired. But I feel better. It’s a relief to have peace and quiet and to know that it will be uninterrupted for a period of time.

As I was leaving the room, Mark was about to read a book, called The Three Questions, to River, in preparation for trying to put him down.

“Question number one,” Mark said. “Why did I have a child? Question number two: why did I agree to a second?”

I think he’s looking forward to his afternoon off too.