Hotel Exploration

I am sitting in a hotel in Huron, SD, while my sweet boy naps and my husband attends meetings. Finn has loved exploring the hotel and Matt is really enjoying getting to know others through the A/G district.

And me? I am having fun too - although I am grossly disappointed at this hotel's lack of a continental breakfast. Isn't that just a "thing" that ALL hotels do these days? Sigh. I do love a good continental breakfast.

The room is dark as I sit here typing. I would turn on the tv but Finn needs his rest as he has been out of sorts and short on sleep the last day or so; I can't risk it! So I am left with my thoughts and my computer: a dangerous combo :).

As I mentioned before, Finn is on a mission to discover every nook and cranny of this hotel. As we have journeyed through this building the last 24 hours or so, we have had a couple of not so pretty moments as he has bravely tried to go where he is not allowed to go: conference rooms, a restaurant, other people's hotel rooms....

Heaven help me, my son is starting to throw tantrums when he gets diverted from his desired path.

Is it okay to admit that I don't always perfectly keep my cool when he does that? When he kicks and lays on the ground and cries out, I get embarrassed. When I get embarrassed, I get more easily frustrated with him.

In my head, I try to stay calm and on point. I try to teach in the moment - to get him behaving before we move away from the situation, to ignore the stranger stares and put the discipline of my son first.

But it is difficult! I get flustered so easily; sometimes I pick him up and shuffle him away in order to restore the peace for the strangers.

For me, I find that I handle these temperamental outbursts of his lightyears better if I am prepared for them. If I am really on top of things, I can often distract him away from the places he can't go before he even wants to go there. Earth shattering, I know.

I think the enormity of the problem comes when I get lazy or preoccupied (lost in thoughts, talking on the phone, texting). Because then I am underprepared and vulnerable to ambush, so to speak.

I tried this theory out later this afternoon and it definitely went better - I was not so easily flustered because I was armed: armed with preparation.

There were still a couple of minor incidences, but we glossed over those fairly easy peasey.

Does the crux of parenting truly lie in staying invested, even when tempted to check out - mentally, physically, emotionally?

So it would seem................so it would seem.

I really wish there was more to do in Huron.