Year 2: Week 13

Dear Zayde,


This week I learned that there is a hotel so close to our house that we don't need to take an airplane to get to it. On Sunday, Mommy brought me to the hotel, where Daddy was waiting for us in one of the rooms. From the balcony, I could see an endless view of blue. The sun was shining, and the breeze was delightful. We ate breakfast in the room, and then we headed outside to play on the beach. I learned that big kids are allowed to run on the beach. They can carry buckets to the shoreline and gather water for the sake of building structures out of sand. (I get the playing with water part, but I don't see why someone would build something when destroying is so much more fun.)

The thing I don't quite understand is why Daddy was in the hotel. I thought people stayed in hotels when they were far away from home and needed a place to sleep. Why would he be in a hotel room just for breakfast? Now that I think about it, that morning was strange for another reason. When I woke up, it was Grandma who picked me up from my crib, not Mommy. After I changed into my daytime clothes and had a snack, Mommy joined us and then took me to the hotel. I wonder why she didn't wake up when I did. Maybe she was really tired. Or maybe she was taking a long shower. I know she was at home because we had dinner together the previous evening, and we did our usual bedtime routine together (bath, pajamas, books, milk, and bed). I can't imagine why she wouldn't have heard me get up the next morning...or why Grandma was in our house so early...unless...WAIT A SECOND. Did Mommy not sleep at home? Did she and Daddy sleep at the hotel? Why on Earth would they do that? They have a bed here. Why would they need to sleep somewhere else? Somewhere away from me? That doesn't make any sense. I must be missing some important detail. This situation requires additional investigation.

For the last 15 months, most of what I've shared with you are good things that I've learned. The truth is that I've encountered many unpleasant facts about this great big world, but I didn't want to burden you. Now that I'm a toddler, I understand that nobody's life is nothing-but-roses, so I think it's time to share with you the things I find most annoying. Here is a short but representative list.

1. Mommy insists on taking a shower EVERY day.
2. Grandma hasn't let me touch her phone since the day I accidentally called 911.
3. All the best cabinets are locked; I can only get into the boring ones.
4. Sometimes Mommy stops her car amid other parked cars and doesn't move for entire minutes.
5. I can't reach doorknobs.
6. Now that I weigh more than 20 pounds, Mommy no longer wants to hold me all day long.
7. Someone keeps putting the shoes back into the shoe bin, despite all my hard work spreading them out onto the floor each day.


Keeping score,
Zelda