Vacation of Unbearable Cuteness (Part 1)

Imagine a cabin up in the hills: three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a sort of open-plan living room/kitchen/dining room. Imagine beautiful blonde wood floors, wood paneled walls, wood ceilings, and comfy furniture. Now add a family: four adults, an eight-month-old child, and a six-month old puppy. The result is, of course, chaos. Beautiful, frustrating, hilarious chaos. This is my vacation.

It's important to note the floors because I haven't had the time or funds to get Charlie groomed lately. This means that when he walks across the hardwood floors, he clicks. And when he runs and then tries to stop, he slides across the floor and smacks into walls. He can't even sit properly because his back paws slip on the floor and he ends up sliding backward or flopping on the floor. I know it has to be frustrating for him, but it's adorable to watch.

Until this trip, no one in my family had met Charlie yet. My mom is afraid of dogs, so introducing her to the puppy has been a bit of a challenge. But she has done her best to be brave, and Charlie is incredibly charming, so they've begun a tentative friendship. Dad loves dogs, and is willing to play with Charlie, so he has become Charlie's second-favorite person in the house. But the most amusing thing to watch has been the interaction between Charlie and Hannah, my eight-month-old niece. Hannah thinks Charlie is the greatest toy EVER. When he walks into the room, her face lights up and she laughs like a mad scientist. She kicks and waves her arms in excitement. The puppy is not sure what to make of Hannah, though. He likes to lick her hands, since she has usually managed to spill food on herself, but he can't understand why she's so loud all the time. When we hold Hannah down on the floor so that she can "stand", she's at eye-level with Charlie. It's an entertaining stand-off: the curious puppy vs. the loud and unafraid almost-toddler. The baby generally wins, which I take as a great sign of the puppy's maturity.

The other fascinating thing about this vacation is that Hannah sets the schedule and the tone for the day. When Hannah naps, Charlie has to go outside to play, and no one can shower or run the dishwasher or make much noise. Outings are scheduled around Hannah's nap and eating schedules, so they are limited and carefully coordinated. If Hannah is in a bad mood, her screaming tends to make everyone tense. This is why, at 12:40 in the afternoon, I have still not yet showered: I didn't get my shower in during Hannah's last awake-time, so I'm out of luck for de-stinkifying until after she wakes up from her current nap. That could be a while since, in the midst of her teething, convincing her to eat or sleep becomes an enormous challenge. IF we can get her to go to sleep, I MIGHT get to shower when she wakes up. It's a little frustrating to have your schedule entirely determined by a small and very grumpy baby. On the other hand, Hannah in some ways ensures are relaxing vacation. We can't be go-go-go all the time because she needs to nap and eat on schedule. We are assured of quiet times at least three times a day while she is napping. And there's a hammock in the woods for just such occasions.

This type of vacation is a bit of an adjustment for our family. We have always been the go-places-do-things vacationers, not the rent-a-house-and-sit-for-a-week vacationers. We would usually travel via plane or car, with excursions and activities each day. This time, though, we are stationary, with (theoretically, anyway) lots of time to talk, read, play games, and relax in one place. We'll have to see how this new vacation style works out when we evaluate at the end of the week.