Nori's Vacation from her Parents

The first week of May, Pete and I went on vacation for a whole WEEK to Belize. In preparing to leave, I had waves of angst and doubt. Is it natural for parents to "abandon" their child for a week? Will she understand? And I had equal moments of justification. I NEEDed a break. It is okay and good to care for ourselves. In building and nuturing ourselves and each other, we will be better parents. A few days before we left, she had another ear infection and somehow this internal battle shifted to- "I am leaving and deserve a break. Nori will be fine, more importantly I will be fine. Adios." We left and did we EVER enjoy it. It was such a peaceful and non stressful vacation. The beach was gorgeous, the water, the sun, the lack of schedule. The big open expanses of time with nothing to do! And the adventure of good food, snorkeling, jungle treking and tubing. And of course, by mid week we sorely missed Nori. I had to discipline my heart to not dwell on her and didn't look at her photo until on the plane home. By day 4-5, our schedule had slowed down it was hard to not feel heart broken. But that was okay, to miss her, to feel the distance that separates us not only when we are miles apart. Even living under the same roof- we are separate people. And this was a good reminder. We checked email several times a day to hear news of her, and it was all good news, according to my sister she was doing great.We hoped this was true, but could hardly believe when it was not only true, but beyond that. She slept perfectly, she didn't ask for us once?! and played well with her cousins. When we returned home, I expected some regression, but much to our suprise- she had taken a huge step forward in her development. I saw it in her eyes, the first Monday we were home: independence. She is okay in herself. She doesn't have as much anxiety leaving us when we go to work. She is falling asleep on her own with no crying or stress. She figured out that she is part introvert. She needs her time waking up along in the morning and unwinding at night. So, in the end, she needed a vacation from us! We are so proud of her for taking this development step. Not to mention, proud of ourselves for allowing her the space to do it.