Back From Vacation

A week-long vacation at the beach went by quick even though I tried to stall as much as I could. Can’t fight time. It was an eventful rather than relaxing week. Can’t be relaxed with a four-year-old, an eighteen-month and a fourteen-month boy. Though I managed to listen to some podcasts, jazz (mostly Wynton Marsalis) and read a few books. I had to wake up around 4:30 in the morning to do my things before the kids got up.

The good thing was that I only opened up my laptop twice for about half an hour each time. Getting away from my computer allowed me to do other tasks. I still had my iPhone though to do some online reading, posting on Facebook and checking email. I was not completely disconnected, but somewhat. I was going to use my vacation time to work on a freelance project, but I just wanted to focus on other things instead.

Had lots of fun time with my in-laws and the boys. Cu Dan is a handful. He ran around everywhere on his own. He didn’t like anyone to hold his hand or carry him. He just liked to run and fall all by himself. Dao was good at holding hands when we crossed the streets. He was a lot more cautious than his little brother.

One of the things that I liked about the time off was that I was able to spend time with each boy separately. Dan usually woke up early so I could take him out to the boardwalk in the morning. When Dao woke up everyone went down to the beach to play with the water. After lunch Dan would take a nap and I would take Dao out for a tram ride and play some mini golf or spend time at the arcade.

It felt nice to have time alone with each kid, especially for Dao. Giving him the full attention is something that is lacking when we were all together. Dan is still little and he requires so much tentative care. He would jump off the boardwalk or running himself into bicycles if we didn’t keep an eye on him. Spending time with each kid was not so exhausting and allowed bonding time with each one.

With Dao, we could just ride the tram car for hours on the boardwalk. I can just sit by his side and have a conversation with him. With Dan, I had to hold to him tight. He didn’t like to sit still. He would stood up tried to break free from me.

I had a lot of great time even though it was way too short. On our way back my mom called to let us know a terrible news. One of my aunts is diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer spreading to liver. So we headed straight to Lancaster to pay her a visit. Every time I hear the word cancer, I get a chill, especially with someone in the family. We just dealt with this tragic disease not too long ago.