Sara Ellen’s 1st Night Away
I only recently returned home, bringing out of the car a napping Sara Ellen from her first incredibly successful night away from home/parents!
A couple weeks ago Tim, his parents, and I planned for Sara Ellen to have a trial sleepover, to see if she’s ready for that before Tim and I try to take any overnight trips together. When we planned it, Tim did not yet have an itinerary to Oslo. That is perhaps only significant because it meant I was alone and lonely for a bit. Actually I was lonely even before S was gone because Mom, Dad, and Emily drove away Friday to vacation in Maine, Tim flew off to Norway that night, and I rarely see Michael even though he is usually home. We’ve spent the last few days at home so yesterday I was bored of the same toys and had no idea what I would do with myself in the evening. I got in touch with a friend, Kate, and hoped she could come over for some cost-free fun. Sara Ellen took her nap in the afternoon and I let “Nana” know when she could expect S to be awake and ready for departure. I think she woke up just a few minutes before Jan arrived. We talked a little bit and I put Sara Ellen in her seat after hugs and kisses. She loves all her grandparents and we have slept there before so I was confident she would enjoy herself, and if necessary, I knew they would call.
As I took a shower I heard from Kate and afterwards confirmed she would be over by 7! Yay, I wouldn’t have to spend the evening alone! I did a little bit of cleaning and Kate arrived with food in hand. She shared her sandwich and we made mac and cheese while chatting for a bit before choosing to watch Pan’s Labyrinth. After that I introduced her to Wii Fit which she highly enjoyed and Wii Play. I won Harry Potter SceneIt and Kate headed home after 11. What an almost miracle to stay up late and play for my own enjoyment! I stayed up a bit longer to watch Charmed and start reading Little Women before going to sleep at 12:30 and sleeping for 7 uninterrupted hours.
I was up in time to attend Worship by the Water and get Michael back home before attending nursery kiddies. It was interesting to notice my parental attitude even without Sara Ellen. I spent a lot of time babysitting “in my youth” and when a 3 y.o. had mini-meltdowns I responded as I do now, trying to calm her without just giving her a pretzel like she wanted. Her 1 y.o. brother however I gave an extra cracker earlier because he’d started out quite unhappy, but she hadn’t minded. I picked both those 2 up, separately and they are so light in comparison. Sara Ellen has never been chubby. She just must be all muscle. She can sure put food away and must burn it all!
Jan and I had agreed they would call when they were ready to bring S home. I realized this morning I had only considered her wanting me that we never set an end time. I called after church and said I’d come over for lunch, etc. She was completely happy when I came in and barely said hello. She was just hanging around eating crackers and walking between “Papa” inside and Aunt JP on the porch, opening and closing the screen door herself. I heard a little about the visit, “she’s a delight” and eventually got us both into swimsuits for a dip before going home. We never did eat lunch. But oh, did she gobble up dinner last night and breakfast! Several servings of beef-a-roni and beans, two peaches. She surprised them by asking for crackers at 11:30pm but I let them know she does sleep better with a snack. Fred checked on her through semi-opened eyelids as it got to that time, I think she was watching Little Mermaid. This morning she ate 3 or 4 scrambled eggs (I had “warned” them about her love of eggs) before going to their church where I’m sure she was admired. After about 15 minutes of their outdoor service, Fred took her to the play area. I heard he was nervous about her climbing habits at the park yesterday. 
She’s learned to go down the fireman’s pole at our beach playground.
I almost couldn’t get her out of their house. She did start down the stairs but kept going to Aunt JP’s room and had a kissing binge before JP carried her out. She fell asleep on the way home. I think she feel asleep yesterday at the same time. Well, we certainly know she’s happy without us. Being a mother at home is a huge job and with a bunch of time to myself I realize she can be perfectly happy without me. Fred said she didn’t ask about me once, it’s the wonder of being too busy having fun. I did too!
Congratulations on a successful night away, I know this must be a great milestone