Aside from
administrative preparation for The Move, such as handing off my cases to
coworkers, calling to forward our last utility bills, changing homeowners’ and
auto insurance, and getting in our last-minute vision, dental, and medical
appointments, I’m starting to physically and mentally prepare Boo and myself
for what’s coming. How? By walking. Everywhere.
Boo wants to go to the
park a half mile away? Okay, but we’re walking. Boo wants to grab an ice cream
a mile away? You guessed it. Walking. All things I should probably be doing
anyway, but I know that once we’ve reached the park and Boo is worn out, she
wants to be carried back (so we drive there, because 32lbs. isn’t chump
change). And that ain’t happening in Europe, so time to get ready. John bought
me a Fitbit, and I’ve been walking at least 12,000 steps a day (approx. 6 miles), and Boo is
along for most of the ride. We went to Lake Erie and walked up and down the beach at
least a dozen times looking for lake glass and getting in those steps. Bonus:
she sleeps like the dead when we get home.
I’m not bringing a
stroller. People are giving me some major side eye for declaring so. I can’t
tell you if they’re right. If so, I’ll buy one. However, I hate strollers.
They’re bulky, annoying to navigate, have to be monitored if I set them
somewhere, and go against my minimalist attitude with every fiber of my being.
Accordingly, I’m going into this with the mindset that Boo can walk as much as
she is able, and then we will take a break and enjoy wherever we are, take a
bus, whatever.
Maybe I’ll eat crow. If
so, I’ll be the first to admit I’m wrong. But for now, Annora and I are very
physically healthy, and there’s no reason we can’t try to walk as much as
possible.
Next, the mental
preparation. I am committed to not rushing everywhere in Europe. I am a person
who has a hard time relaxing, I am bad at letting messes be, and I abhor
wasting time. I cross stitch while I’m waiting for my oil to be changed. I pull
weeds while the BBQ is heating up. I wipe the bathroom down while Boo is
bathing. I won’t eat breakfast on the weekend until the laundry is going and
the house is picked up. I stare at my phone WAY too much. And I want this to
stop. It is so exhausting. I don’t need to be remembered by Boo as a
half-participating mom because I’m always in the background cleaning or
multitasking.
I’ve already managed to
tone it down a bit thanks to becoming her mom. It is LITERALLY (not
figuratively) impossible to rush Boo. Can’t do it. She couldn’t care less that
we have to hurry or Mommy is going to be late. She still NEEDS to buckle her
imaginary brother, Michael, into his imaginary freaking car seat before she
will settle in to her own. It is both maddening and adorable at the same time.
And it teaches me to 1. Get out the door earlier to allow Michael to be
buckled; and 2. Take a breath, realize I’m a state employee, and it’s okay if
I’m at work at 8:34, not 8:30. After all, car seat safety is crucial. Even with
Michael.
As for mentally
preparing Boo, I know this sounds weird, but these past few weeks I’ve been
making a point to spend a lot of time going places and doing things with her
one-on-one during the weekdays. I work full-time, so while we spend lots of
time together on the weekends, she is in daycare/preschool all week beginning
at 7:30am-5pm. Presently, I no longer leave her at home while I run errands. Boo has
always behaved very well in restaurants, because we’ve taken her with us since
she was 3 days old (I HAD to have sushi). But in addition to eating out here
and there, I suck it up and take Boo to the park or a board game café after
dinner (plug: Clevelanders – you will LOVE Tabletop in Ohio City. www.tabletopcleve.com.),
even when I’m tired and I’d rather turn on the TV and veg out. I drag her to
Crossfit with me in the evening instead of going in the morning while she and
John are asleep. And so on. Doing weekday activities together means that Boo
and I are getting in sync, creating dialogue, and developing a travel
relationship. And, since not everywhere we go is fun and games (grocery
shopping, Crossfit, etc.), I’m hoping Boo learns a little patience. We aren’t
quite there yet, but I’m optimistic.
Will my preparation favorably
translate into a new place and dynamic? Who knows. I’ve already seen
improvement on me looking at my phone less and feeling more patience with Boo.
I’ll do whatever I can to make everything as seamless as one can when moving
thousands of miles away to a foreign country.
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