A Successful History Trip

I have determined I am unable to get a good night’s sleep when woken in the middle of the night with a sour breathed whisper,

“Mom?  Can I sleep with you?  I can’t sleep over there.”

While another child was already peacefully slumbering in my bed.

Once two children were nestled in, breathing steady into their dreams, they seemed to turn into “Mom magnets” needing to be in direct contact with me.  Then, when they couldn’t possibly get any closer, a leg kicked, an elbow popped up – and the sour breath found it’s happiest breathing position was right in front of my nose.

After trying to find respite at the bottom of the bed, and then for some time on the floor, I determined my best option was to push two sleeping children to one side of the bed and solidify some sleeping space of my own.

Thankfully, I found some sleep before two little magnets slowly inched their way back, stuck to me.

“Oh well,” I smiled, “Happy Mother’s Day to me.”

We were in a hotel room, trying to regain our energy after taking Declan around Washington D.C. to do what he wanted to do most – go see the history of the Presidents.

Declan had a wonderful time this weekend.  He got to go all around and see all the statues.

He went to see the paintings of all the Presidents.

And to imagine himself as one.

He went to the other museums around, overall, with a smile on his face.

My husband and I tried our hardest to make this trip work meeting Declan’s needs.  We picked a hotel close to all the attractions to take breaks as needed.

We packed his wagon to help him be able to visit all the attractions he wanted to see.  Which was good – because at the end of the day on Saturday my fitness tracker said I had walked over 17 miles.  Declan wouldn’t be able to do that, nor would he be happy missing something he wanted to see.  The wagon, as always, was a huge win for us.

We felt safe knowing he had a GPS tracker attached to his clothing in case he got lost in a crowd or, like he did once when he was upset waiting in a line, got frustrated and ran away.

As we drove home, my eyes were ready to close from my night of sleep with my magnet children.  I thought about Declan’s trip.

My husband and I tried to plan for Declan’s needs to ensure he had a good time.  We all worked together to make sure a well-rested, well fed Declan got to see all the things he had hoped to see with a smile on his face.

And he did.

Declan went to school today excited to tell his class about his trip.

The teacher let me know how it went:

He did great sharing all the photos! J Future president is definitely a possibility – the class even cheered after his talk about the trip!  

As we discussed our trip, my husband and I thought there were more successes than areas of concern.

Which was a great feeling.  We have always felt limited in the activities or trips we could pursue with Declan’s needs.

But we realized with careful planning, we could do a quick trip like this again.

And that felt very good.  I bet for all of us!