Not So Short and Sweet

One may think that shorter trips are easier on kids, but I've actually found the opposite to be true many time. I think the reasons for this are because you tend to be on the go much more since you are trying to maximize your short time at your destination and also because there is little time between travel days. Many times, Maya's behavior is actually wore on trips like the one we are on now and it can make for some pretty long days (mentally at least).

Saturday, our first full day in Chicago, was a tough day for her in terms of her behavior. It all started when she woke up at, what felt like, the crack of dawn. This meant that I, too, had to wake up at the crack of dawn. Considering the fact that she had not gone to bed until about 11:30 our time the night before, this set thing up for a very, very long day of whining, crying, running away, and basic unruliness. It all came to a head when we were in the beautiful Baha'i House of Worship for the North American Continent in Wilmette, Illinois.

Josh had been to the Baha'i temple in India while on a graduate school trip earlier this year so, when he found out that there was one in the Chicago area, he really wanted to go see it. The temple is a gorgeous intricately carved white stone building with well kept gardens in a quiet serene setting. Maya, in keeping with the India meaning of her name which is chaos, was anything but quiet and serene. Eventually, while we were in the midst of listening to one of the tour guides tell us about the other Baha'i temples around the world, I had to actually take her outside and give her a time out right there on the front steps of the temple. Not exactly a fun way to spend an afternoon. She was pretty mopey and whiny the rest of the day, but quickly fell asleep when I finally got her to bed later that night. It will probably come as no surprise that she slept in until 8:45 the next morning.