My Kid is Leaving Me

Hey strangers!  First, sorry it's been so quiet around here.  You *may* have seen my status update on facebook yesterday, but basically it's crunch time around here!  I'm in the thick of finishing my dissertation (in the next few months), applying for jobs (send some interview vibes my way, please), have been super busy at work, and then, oh yeah, there's being a wife and mom, too.  ::yawn::  It's all good, though.  I don't really have any complaints.  The current state of things just hasn't left much time for blogging.  As I said on facebook, I'm considering it a good thing that you aren't seeing posts from me... it means I'm (usually) doing what I'm supposed to be doing.  I'm feeling the pressure!  Just over 4 months of my internship left (at which time I have no job) and only about 2 months left to finish my dissertation (on the time line I've laid out for myself...) - so, it's a lot to tackle and I'm *trying* to stay focused, which is no small task.

Before I get to my point... I also want to toot my horn a bit for actually waking up when my alarm went off this morning.  I don't know about you, but I have been struggling with that in a big way lately.  It is SO hard to wake up in the morning, and I really really enjoy having plenty of time in the morning... time to work, work out, do things around the house, etc. before actually getting ready for work.  I've tried doing that sort of stuff in the evenings, but I'm totally fried by the time I work a full day and then come home to the 'second shift' of being Mommy.

Speaking of being Mommy, 1 of my 2 offspring is leaving me.  Yeah, she's out of here.  Miss Audrey is DISNEY WORLD bound this Monday. That's only like 4 days away... I'm still pretty much in denial, although I'm *really really really* excited for her!!!  So, you've figured out the Mr. and I are not taking her... Mama needs to finish internship and land a 'real job' before we take vacations like that, my friends. ;)  No, not us springing for Disney!  Instead, the Mr.'s parents, Nana and Papa, are taking the little lady on the BIG trip.  I have to admit, when the Mr. came home from work one day and presented me with the idea... "My parents want to take Audrey to Disney in February," I may have said "no!" before I could even think.  Well, I was thinking, but my immediate thoughts went something like this... "She'll be too far away." "It's too long." "She's never been on a plane before - I want to be there for that!" "She's never been to Disney - I want to be there for that." "There are so many exciting firsts that *I* want to see."  

See how much I was thinking about myself?  I would miss her, I wouldn't see her do x,y,z... me me me.  Well, when I got over that and started thinking about what the experience would be like for Audrey, it was a no brainer - YES, of course she should go.  Audrey has never been on a plane (she'll love it) - Audrey has never been to Disney World (she will LOVE it) - Audrey's grandparents are amazing and will take perfect care of her - Audrey is a fiercely independent kid who will likely not miss me for a single second she's gone.  Adding it all up, it was clear that I needed to let my little lady go... hard as it might be for *me.*  I also reminded myself that way back when, the only time I went to Disney World as a child, guess who took me?  You guessed it... my grandparents!  

ready for her trip with a fresh new hair cut

So, she's off in just a few days and man is this girl is excited.  We made the (terrible mistake) of telling her about it last weekend - a full 10 days before she's actually due to leave.  I think it's because we were excited to see her reaction.  By the way, we should have known better.  A girl who has never been to Disney World or heard her friends talk about it isn't going to be all that excited.  In her mind, it's the same as like, "hey, we're going to Disney on Ice." or "We're going to the aquarium today," so we didn't get the reaction we were looking for (at first).  Things ramped up once we showed her some videos online.  Now, she's freaking out excited and every day asks "Is it time to go to Disney?!?!" "I want to go on Splash Mountain!!!  It's this ride and it goes down a big waterfall and it's like this (gestures falling motion)"  "I want to see all the princesses!! Will Sleeping Beauty be there?" "Oooh I saw a spooky ride in the video - can I go on that?" and so it continues...

She'll be gone Monday through Friday, arriving home appropriately so just in time for the Mr. and my birthday next Friday - I'm already dreaming of picking her up at the airport and squeezing the heck out of her!  It's going to be a tough week, no lie, but at least I'll have work to distract me.  AND, given that our little man heads to bed pretty early (8pm at the latest, more like 7 usually), I plan on taking advantage of the free-er than usual evenings to build in some dissertation work time.  It's not the most exciting, but it sure is needed.

I think she'll fit in perfectly at Disney World...

So, wish me luck, my friends.  It's going to be a tough week, but what an amazing adventure for my adventurous, independent, imaginative little gal!

-Amber