First Day of Fall!

As a former strict observer of all things fall, it feels kind of sacrilegious to be delighted to stay in eternal summer. Here I will make a confession: I need a break from seasons. Gasp! Downsides of seasons: cold weather, allergies, all free time for weeks spent raking leaves and monitoring kids alone during deployment, stuffing whiny kids into jackets and socks. When the kids are older, I am willing to rethink my position on fall. But for now, forget that, we’re living the beach life. 

Let’s talk about hotel living. We wake up, all in one room. Chris goes to work. The kids and I have breakfast in the lobby, then head out to play on the playground and either waste time on my phone or chat with other lodgers. Back to the room to regroup, then I take the kids out for the morning (train museum, story time, beach) with a packed lunch. We come back for nap time, which has been a bit of a challenge. Isaac needs to not nap, but we have to keep the room dark for the Woo to sleep. If Isaac falls asleep he WILL NOT SLEEP AT BEDTIME. I’ve hit on some success letting him work on his letters with iPad games after he rests for awhile and gets wiggly. After nap time the kids have a snack and watch cartoons while I do laundry, tidy, wash dishes in the tiniest sink on the planet, drink tea, whatever. Sometimes we go down to the beach again before dinner, but then the kids are all sandy and want a bath before dinner. Dinner is served (by me) on the rooftop terrace when Chris gets home. Home—HA. 

It has some challenges, of course, but the lovely SoCal sunshine and weather and amenities alleviate a lot of the cabin fever we might feel at the Navy Lodge in…say…Norfolk. This one is practically a resort. We’re just over halfway through our time here, and then it will be time to hit the road again! We better enjoy this while we can.