Leaving the Babes Behind

In a few days, Ben and I will have been married for 9 years. Amazing. Time becomes more and more mysterious in its pacing, and after talking to my dad this weekend who cannot believe he is nearly 70 (!) nor that he has been married for nearly 35 years, it appears that time will only become more breath-taking in its speed. To celebrate, Ben and I traveled to Paris!

A few days before we left, I took the kids to DC to stay with the grandparents. Not news, but it is SO MUCH WORK to leave children! First there was the task of PACKING -- packing all of their things for 10 days in DC, packing for my time in DC, my time in Paris, our time on the plane, my time on the plane without kids (glorious day!) -- on and on. Once we got to DC there was the business of buying groceries, making notes about schedules and sleep, coordinating the 2 sets of grandparents, and -- most importantly -- preparing Silas for my going away.

Though Silas transitions pretty smoothly, he also likes to know what the plans are. (I just spend an hour looking at my calendar -- I can't imagine where he gets this...)

I had some anxiety (ok, lots of anxiety) about leaving him. This is a boy who at this moment in time LOVES his mama. Would be be all right???

A wise therapist friend suggested that I make Silas a book about our separation -- lay out for him what would happen, where we'd be, where he'd be, when we'd come back together etc. A physical book would also serve as a transitional object for him -- something he could keep/hold/carry for security.

So I made a book and gave it to him 2 days before we left.
He read it a lot.
Both making it and reading it to him reassured me too...

Here are pictures of it:
(I also made one for him when I went to Boston for the weekend, which was much simpler and less colorful and he loved it just as much)