California Here We Come!

I love staying home with Robby, but I do have moments where I feel boring and uninteresting. I miss the adventure and spontaneity that I used to have in my life. It seems that every time I begin to lament the predictability of my life, a new opportunity presents itself.

Robby and I received an invitation to travel to California. We are going to participate in a photo and video shoot profiling the Proprio foot for Ossur. I could not be more thrilled! Imagine me, a model! Of course, I'll have to rinse the marshmallow fluff out of my hair and try to rub the blue marker off my arms first.

I am ecstatic that Robby is included in this adventure. He is almost four and I think that he may remember this trip. I don't expect him to have a clear memory, but surely a trip of this magnitude will make an impression. We are going to have a blast in California!

Of course, in order to have fun in California, we will have to get there. And getting there will necessitate a plane trip--a very long plane trip. A very long plane trip without help from Scott. I am beginning to rethink this great adventure.

Robby is an experienced flier, but his trips have always been short in duration. He is a "high need" traveler, demanding constant entertainment and interaction. The flight to California is going to be approximately 9 hours long. There is no way I can entertain him the entire time, and I am going to be on my own. I am worried that Robby Rotten will emerge and that we will be kicked off the plane in the middle of Kansas.

Assuming that we are not escorted off the plane in the Midwest by air marshals, it occurred to me that Robby has never been in a hotel room. Hopefully he will adjust well, leaving his temper tantrums in Virginia. I am trying to push my "worst case scenarios" out of my mind. I shutter to think of a classic Robby Rotten moment occurring in the middle of the hotel lobby, with bell hops and tourists staring at me with disdain. I am hoping that the lure of the pool will keep his behavior in check and will compensate for any feelings of being homesick for his race car bed and Charlie Cat.

I have been trying to prep Robby for our upcoming excursion which is now less than a week away. I have shown him a map of where we are going, and we've been talking about being on the airplane "way high up." I've shown him pictures of the hotel and the surrounding sights. We've watched video clips showing the hotel room and the swimming pool. After my multimedia presentation, he simply looked at me and said, "Momom, I want to stay home. I don't want to go to California. I stay home." Ut oh!