Sunday, March 27, 2016

Getting to everyday life

Muppet show at the conference



When Zoe arrived about a month ago we went straight to a conference and spent a week in a hotel, seeing friends, having fun and me taking Zoe to sessions now that she is capable of sitting still and simply watch a show while I listen to the talks. I did realize that Muppet Show was not the best thing for her to watch because she started waving her hands and moving in her chair when the songs began, to the amusement and distraction of the other attendees. But besides that, I even managed to ask a few questions of presenters while she was there. When we got back to New York our everyday life started again, full on with acting and dancing class and a new babysitter twice a week. By Thursday the first week she was crying the whole way to school because she hurt her foot, hadn't had time to get proper breakfast and was still jetlagged. Instead of sending her to afterschool I picked her up myself and simply brought her back to work with me. I felt so sorry for her for putting her through this and just wanted to sit down and spend an uninterrupted day with her, just her and me. Unfortunately having 3 jobs to make ends meet does not allow for me to do that much.

After the show with the cast
Getting to an everyday life when changing context every two months is hard. And although I try my best to smooth the transition, making sure I take her back to the exact same places, lifestyle and people, it is never ideal. But she is incredibly adaptable and brave, and after a week she was back to her usual popular Zoe-self who is greeted by her three best friends at school every day, who excitedly tells me everything about her day when I pick her up. She asks that I never move from our tiny one-bedroom, view-to-the-Empire-State-Building apartment and she asks for sushi from her usual places. By now she is having a blast, having play dates, hanging out with our friends (Easter break brought three friends to New York that we got to hang out with, one a bit of a surprise). We have seen two musical shows, been to one museum and had a weekend in Montreal to visit a friend of mine who has a daughter Zoe's age. All while making this into our everyday life.