Chasing Waffles

  It’s never the days that went off without a hitch that become the stories families tell over and over for years to come. It’s the little girl’s tantrum thrown over not being given one more marshmallow. It’s the toy gun being tossed from the moving vehicle when three boys in the backseat were misbehaving. So what seems stressful at the time often becomes the memories and stories retold again and again.
  And so why I let an entire weekend off together cause a bit of anxiety, I don’t know, after all, it’s the things that go wrong that become epic family tales.
  Despite this truth I can still let expectations run rampant and can end up being my own worst enemy in my pursuit of family fun. Add in the fact it’s our wedding anniversary and a holiday? Forget about it! I start picturing picnics in the park, egg hunts in Easter dresses and grand romantic gestures, allowing the expectation of marital and family bliss mount in my mind...
  With that admission aside, I really am a laid back person, but I have learned over the years it’s better to have a plan.
  We’ve watched precious weekends come and go, with too much time spent puttering around the house trying to decide what to do. Being married to a strict non-planner has led me to the realization that planning is my duty in our family unit, and one I enjoy. Part of the point of Toddlerado was to avoid the unfortunate situation of letting two laid back people let too many moments slip by that you just can’t get back.
 I’m not saying I need a clipboard and an itinerary but I now approach time off together armed with multiple options depending on weather and moods of a toddler and  a husband. Balancing expectations with reality and spontaneity  is tricky territory and in the end as most things, the trick is in the balance.
  We had a great weekend. No, I didn’t get home from work Friday to a little Layla bringing me a bouquet of anniversary flowers. (That is literally what one of my co-workers thought Court might do- why do we girls do this to ourselves and each other??)
  We kicked off our weekend with anniversary waffles instead. In my mind Saturday morning would find us at Oak Street Plaza enjoying breakfast from the Waffle Lab food truck, but on this particular Saturday the Waffle Lab wasn’t in Old Town,  but at the soccer fields, catering to the throes of soccer families.  So sans child athlete, we headed to the fields, got our waffles and tailgated. Not the ideal place to eat a meal, but they were, as always, the most delicious waffles. I kept looking around trying to peg other non soccer parents who were just getting their waffle fix but didn’t see a one.
  After our breakfast I imagined a day at the zoo,
Layla pointing and loving every minute of every beastly interaction with her parents walking lazily behind relaxed, hand in hand.
   I knew it wasn’t going to go as pictured when we entered the roped line for tickets and Court said the only thing worse than being in a public with lots of people is being  in public with lots of people and their kids.  And so we spent the next few hours trying to contain an excited, defiant toddler, who spent approximately 10 seconds at each exhibit. We were parents on the edge as Layla darted off in front of other families- trying to restrain their own offspring- or stopping for no reason, refusing to walk on. Luckily we made it and never had to report a missing child and even got her in the stroller at some point. Despite witnessing interesting parenting choices- the mom encouraging her two young boys to push their way to the front of the elephant exhibit- and despite the fact I looked longingly at the parents who had chosen to harness their young ones, despite a potty accident on the way home, despite my own expectations, we had a great time.
    And so it goes, our Easter Weekend 2013 will be remembered for wishing we had leashed our child, watching a bunch of kids we don’t know play soccer, and of course, chasing waffles.
  It’s also nice to be reminded that I’m still a wife who would take two tickets to see the Alabama Shakes at Red Rocks over a dozen roses any day.