Back to the Grind

Yesterday, while Madeleine was laying on her tummy on the dining room floor, coloring in her coloring book, she inquired, "Mom?  When are we going BACK to our hotel?"

All that talk about our red house and now she wants to be back at the hotel?!

ME: We're not, honey.  We're home now.
MADELEINE: But why are we NOT going back to our hotel?
ME: Because.  We're all done at the hotel.  Vacation is over.
MADELEINE: But when are we going on vacation AGAIN?

Okay.  I see now.  When she claimed she was feeling tired of vacation, she was just looking for a one or two day reprieve, during which she could go back to our red house and play with some of the toys she was missing, then hop on back over to the hotel.

Seeing as she's only 3.5, it's understandable that she doesn't really comprehend the distance between Massachusetts and Georgia, let alone the idea that people can't easily go back and forth between the two places in any given day.  It also explains why she "saw" her preschool teacher at the gas station in Atlanta ("Mom!  I see Mrs. G walking all around over there!"), and why she was convinced that a little boy at Julia's school playground yesterday was her cousin.  ("Mom!  Jack's here!  See - right over there!  Playing on the swing!")

She was definitely bummed to learn that we're not heading back on vacation any time in the near future.  I guess she wants to go back to the hotel because she's just getting TIRED of our red house.

Julia, on the other hand, is a bit more unequivocal in her desire to remain in Georgia:

"I just want to go back to Atlantaaaaaaaa!  I just want to be with my WHOLE FAMILY all together!  I want to be with ALL THE PEOPLE THAT I LOOOOOVE!"

That was yesterday's after-school meltdown.  Clearly, adjusting back to the usual routine is going to take a few days.

One thing the girls have enjoyed doing is looking through our trip photos on my computer.  Sometimes it doesn't even need to be a trip photo to excite them.  Today, as Madeleine waltzed past my computer while I was reading an article, she suddenly exclaimed, "Mom, I saw PARENTS...that are TOYS!  On your COMPUTER!  And...I REALLY want them on my wish list!"

Parents that are toys.
(AKA an ad for the tv show "Bob's Burgers.")

Today both girls are back to school, so it will be interesting to see if Julia's 2nd day ends in a less dramatic way than the 1st.  And I'm sure Madeleine can't wait to tell her teacher all about how we saw her at a gas station in Georgia.