Europe- Part 1- Learning Things

(That's Rembrandt's Night Watch behind us, p.s.!)

I am going to try document our trip this summer for two reasons: 

1. It was amazing! and 

2: It taught me so much from the standpoint of mom/human being!

Let's start with the it was amazing part. 

I was able to spend 12 days, in Europe, with my parents, who we don't get to see all that much.  It was the best! They were absolutely in heaven to spend so much time with Addison--and us, I guess. She was at the sweetest age during our trip (though I had been hoping she'd be walking by then) and was seriously a joy to be around. 

Also, duh, the places we went were so delightful. I mean that seriously. Every single thing I saw or did was a delight. Our days were full of it. Chocolate croissant for most breakfasts? Mmm... delightful.  Walking, a lot! Delightful! Cobblestones! Buff legs! Gorgeous views! Buildings with character! Canals!  You get it. My ideal on any day of life involves leaving home and being busy for every moment and then coming home to go to bed. So vacation was seriously bliss. 

Now the learning part. 

Probably my favorite thing ever is to learn. It is really cool to me that people can just learn something and then choose to be different because of it.  That might be one reason that I like being a mom, because I get to learn new things all the time and then be a better person.   Anyway, on this trip, I definitely changed for the better in the mom arena. 

When I had Addison, it really took a toll on me.  I felt like I couldn't do anything. I kept waiting for that time when things would go back to normal.  A friend told me "it usually takes me like three months for things to go back to normal."  What I didn't realize is that she had other kids--her normal was different from my normal.  After waiting and waiting, and realizing things weren't going back to normal, I had an epiphany when Addie was about six months old and there was no going back.  I could do whatever I wanted, I just needed to do it with a baby.  

Seems simple, but it was mind-blowing.  Anyway, Barrett and I do really well with this attitude now. A few people we talked to were surprised we were taking Addie or that we were going on a trip this big with her.  What I learned is that you can basically do anything you want to do.  They teach you that when you are a kid in school, and mostly I think it's crap, but when applying it to having kids, I think it might just be true for once.  At least a thousand times on the trip, I thought, this is a victory for all mom's who, one year ago, had a teeny baby in their arms and thought they might just have to sit on a couch and nurse for the rest of their life.  Life as they knew it was over. Well even if it wasn't a victory for all moms, it was for me.  

Airplane rides: easy-schmeezy. If you prepare. Sleeping: easy-peesy. Get a baby carrier.  Do whatever you were gonna do, just strap the baby to you.  We didn't miss a beat due to an Addie problem.  I mean once she did cry and I had to forego my Notre-Dame Crypt audio-tour, but I have eyes, so I just read the information on the boards, and seriously, if she is going to cry once on the trip, that was a fine time to have it happen.  I just felt so empowered!!!!  

Aside from "you can do anything" I was happy to learn about Addie and other people and create some new goals and habits.  I realized that Addison is a people person- she would smile at each person in the elevator or on the bus INDIVIDUALLY and just melt into a smile. I also re-realized just how much she loves to do things. I mean any time we are out and about, she is so enthralled with whatever is going on that she is just a little angel and never misbehaves.  Not like she ever misbehaves at home, but sometimes she gets bored.  I also learned a lot from the people we met in Europe because they were SO NICE to Addison.  Seriously in America, I sometimes feel like people see kids as a nuisance to the point where I'm making small talk and realize I'm lying just so I don't hurt their little negative feelings! I like having a kid. It is fun. She is fun. It is not that hard. My day is going well even though I have a kid. Most days do. 

In Europe, people seemed to understand this.  It was refreshing. I love the saying "A person's a person, no matter how small." THEY GET THIS. They would give her little handshakes, say hello, talk to her. She got her own complimentary plate of fries or crackers or whatever at a lot of restaurants. People wanted to hold her.  Also, people with kids just went about their lives like other normal people and that made me learn, surprisingly, to be more understanding of people who can't go about their life like normal because of their kids.  Culture and lifestyle are where it's at.  Or where it's missing.   I am personally working on being more open to everyone and really just loving people because they're people, and that's enough.  

That brings me to habits.  If you actually know me, you know I am a habit freak.  Don't want to start new bad habits, I try to get rid of bad habits, I want to make new habits that stick, etc. I realized a lot of things in our small families lives could be enriched if I looked at how we live and tweaked it a bit.  I like taking Addison places so that she can learn new things, and I realized that she wasn't getting very many opportunities to interact with people and do much outside the house.  When I got home I joined a fitness group that helped me to meet some new friends, gets me working out at least three times a week, and helps Addie be around other kids a lot.  Going in, that is what I thought I would get out of it. But it's been even better.  It helps Addison see that sometimes, it's about me.  It also takes us to the park, a bunch, and Addison has gotten so skilled. It made me realize how much she loves playing outside. (If you were wondering, she could do it forever.)  I could go on forever, but sometimes insight is just so hard to lay out. 

I don't know.  This probably isn't what you expected to read on a "Europe" post, but I didn't really expect it to change me so much. And I probably didn't even do an adequate job explaining because I didn't plan my writing! So. You get what you get.  :)