A weekend away

It was the first overnight trip we’ve taken since Disneyland.  And that was in 2008.

The Webmaster’s cousin was getting married, and the wedding was scheduled for last Saturday, right in the middle of Memorial Day weekend, in Naselle, Washington.  For those of you keeping track, that’s about a 3 and a half hour drive from our house.  In good traffic.  One way.  With small children who may or may not nap.

So, my brilliant idea: Rent a house with the Webmaster’s parents (aunt and uncle of the groom, also bringing the flowers to the wedding) somewhere around Long Beach, Washington, near the ocean!  Take a weekend away, let the kids have a vacation, go to the wedding without a major marathon of driving!

We ended up in Ocean Park, in a rental house right off the beach.  It was a GREAT house.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed their time in that house, and we had a relaxing time with the Webmaster’s parents.  It goes without saying that Ane, Tad and Rerun loved all the quality time with their Nana and Papa.

So, day one.  We drove and drove and drove – got caught in bad traffic and bad weather.  What could be a 3 hour and 45 minute drive to Ocean Park turned into nearly 5 hours on the road.  It’s a good thing the iPad has such a great battery life.

Once we arrived, Rerun discovered the joys of dominoes.  You can knock them down.  They make noise when you knock them down.

Fortunately, he has a big sister who learned quickly that it was pretty fun to set them up for him to knock over.

She eventually led him on a merry chase through the house, setting up four or five dominoes, then running off to set more up.  He would then find them, and knock them over.  Then Ane would run back and set them up again.  It was great entertainment – especially on a hardwood floor.

The house was laid out so that the kids had their own room (two twin beds and a crib), and their own adjoining bathroom.  We were right next door, with our room facing the ocean (!) and our own bathroom.  Nana and Papa were downstairs with their own room and bathroom.  It was a win for everyone.

But, like I said, this was our first overnight trip since Disneyland.  And I didn’t know how Tad was going to react to sleeping in a bed that was not his own.  I did make sure that we had the important things, like his Tigger “blunkly” and his bunny, and the bedtime book-of-the-moment, Just Go To Bed.  But it was still unnerving to Tad to be tucked into a new, strange bed in a new, strange house.  It did help that his sister and brother were in the same room, but he still tried the old “there are monsters in here” trick.  However, I didn’t have to do anything about that one – Ane rose magnificently to the challenge, and patiently ran her hand underneath all the furniture and looked under beds to prove to Tad that there were no monsters in that room.  I was so proud of her.

Still, Tad was nervous.  The Webmaster and I were settling into our room when we heard his plaintive voice call, “Daddy!  Daddy!”

The Webmaster checked in on him, then came back.  “He said, ‘I want to talk with Mama,'” he reported.

I went to check on him.  Ane saw it was me.  “He’s trying to climb into my bed,” she complained.

“Mama, you come sleep in my bed?”  Tad asked hopefully, pulling back his comforter and sheets to make room for me.

He already knew that there was enough space for him and me in a twin bed, because I had been cuddling with him earlier to get him calmed down.  “No, buddy, I have to sleep with Daddy in the grown-up bed,” I explained.

He paused a beat.  “Oh.  Then I come sleep in your bed,” he said, beginning to climb out.

“No, you’re not,” I replied, tucking him back in with his bunny, blunkly, and dolphin Pillow Pet.  I could see that he was still anxious, so I said, “Look, Mama has to go take a shower.  I will check on you when I’m done, okay?”

“Okay,” Tad replied reluctantly, and settled back down.  The kids’ bathroom light was on to provide a night light, and I kept their door open a crack so I could peek in on them later.

When I was done with my shower, and I checked in on them, Tad was fast asleep, Ane was out like a light, and Rerun was still snoring away in that cute little baby way that he has.

Success!  Day one of our vacation was over.  But now we had a wedding to attend.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 at 12:55 am and is filed under Autism Adventures, Children, Family, Vacation Tales.
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