I had some work in Nashville last week so I packed up Scarlette and we took a little road trip. I learned a very valuable lesson about traveling with toddlers which was that while it may be a good idea to pack crayons and a coloring book for your tiny tot, it is NOT a good idea to leave said crayons in the car seat when you stop for lunch if it is ninety-odd degrees outside. Apparently wax melts.
It is super fun to try and corral a three year old in a parking lot while you are simultaneously attempting to wipe melted wax off of the interior of your car with a handful of baby wipes in the middle of rural Tennessee.
On the plus side, Scarlette was an excellent traveler. And it turns out that unlike her mother, she loves driving over the bridge spanning the lake on our way to Tennessee. I tried not to let her see me hyperventilating lest I pass on my neurotic fear of bridges over water. She kept asking me if we could drive over MORE water so it seems she was unaffected although she did instruct me to “QUIT SINGING DAT SONG, MOMMY” so apparently she did not appreciate my rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Whatever. It eased my mind.
She was, however, fearful of driving over the mountain. I learned this when I said “Scarlette! Look our your window, we’re going to go over the mountain and it is going to be so pretty!” And then she started screaming “NO! WE NOT CAN GO OVER THE MOUNTAIN! I DON’T WANT TO FALL OFF THE MOUNTAIN!” I was trying to figure out where this fear of hers originated as I attempted to explain to her that our car was not going to fall off the mountain when she said “OUR CAR WILL FALL OFF THE MOUNTAIN! IT WILL FALL OFF LIKE AN ICE SLED!”
So thanks for THAT, Frozen.
I had intended to blog while I was away but that turned out to be a very lofty goal because it was a busy trip and in the downtime I decided that instead of blogging I would spend time with Scarlette. I feel as though this was the right choice on account of how my real life child is more important than my internet baby and all (although my stat counter might disagree but PRIORITIES.)
I spent my childhood summers, from June first to September first every year, living with my grandparents outside of Nashville. So I packed up a picnic and took Scarlette to the park that was my favorite place to visit as a little girl and then to some of my other favorite local landmarks. It was such a special time for me to share with her. She has been missing me a lot lately (and I her) as our family has generously stepped in to help babysit while I lock myself away to work on my book and so I really treasured this little bit of time for just the two of us.
She is spunky and and sassy and stubborn, my Scarlette, but overall she is such a sweet-hearted girl and I am so proud to be her mom.
