We have officially survived Christmas and New Years. Christmas was great, very relaxed but still fun, with Lolo and Dida coming to spend Christmas Day with us, as well as my brother Sting and his girlfriend Sarah. We had gift giving in the morning, an easy Christmas lunch, a swim in the pool, dessert, and plenty of chill time. It was really fun, with no drama. The kids loved their presents, and it was really nice to spend the day with family but in the comfort of our own home.
Boxing Day was not as fun. We decided on a family trip to the beach, which we only attempted once last summer and it was not good. We gave the kids lots of warning, both wanted to go, but then when it came down to it, Arley's anxiety skyrocketed, and it was a disaster. It took an extra 45 minutes to get out of the house, there was lots of shouting and lots of tears, huge emotions from Arley...we got to the beach and I managed to get him and Carmie out swimming in the ocean, and that was fun. We had 15-20 minutes of swimming before Carmie had to go back to the sand, then Arley got double dumped by two waves and he was done. He couldn't stand the feeling of sand being in his swimmers and water shoes, and he let us all know it. We packed up and went back home, all of us emotionally exhausted, and Jeff and I promised each other never to do a family trip to the beach again. It was far more damaging to our family dynamic than positive, and these are not the kind of memories we want to make! The next day we stayed home and had a family swim in the pool, which was really fun and no stress, and most of all, no tears, shouting or anxiety.
New Year's Eve was a disaster as well. In the car on the way to see the fireworks, Arley couldn't get his headphones working properly, which was enough to set him off, which was enough to set Jeff off, which was enough to set me off, which was enough to make Carmie burst into tears. It was awful. We turned around to head home, then decided we should go because Carmie was just so upset, then we got stuck in traffic trying to get to Point Cartwright where we were planning on watching the fireworks, Jeff dropped us off and then drove off to find a parking spot. Jeff never made it back in time to actually see the fireworks, and Arley was so worried about him and so upset with himself for setting off the whole chain of events that he couldn't enjoy them. And then the fireworks were only 7 minutes long! I called Jeff and had him pick us up (he missed the whole thing, stuck in the car), and we drove home with none of us speaking! OMG.
Other than that, we have had a relaxing time. The kids have been sleeping late, Jeff and I have been hanging out together a lot, I've been doing lots of creative stuff, and the kids have been going to some groups and not to others. We are definite home-bodies, with good reason! Jeff starts back at work next week, and the kids' schedules ramp up again, which I think is a good thing for us all.
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