The Grandparent Hangover

I can’t even believe that the last time I posted was the last day of school…now we’re preparing (and I’m counting down the days) until the first day of school. It’s been an uneventful summer, which is all I hoped for, and now it’s time for another school year to begin. My husband and I were able to get out a bit here and there, and even managed to take a vacation for our five year anniversary. With the good, sometimes comes the bad, and being free from our son, even for a day can come with consequences...

My husband and I are the kind of parents who aren’t afraid to ask our own parents, regularly, to watch our children, specifically, our 2 ½ year-old, so that we can enjoy a night out or escape for vacation. We are extremely lucky to have both of our parents close in distance to us, and to love us, and our son, enough to sacrifice their sanity by watching our crazy kid.

This overabundance of love from our parents, while so fortunate, also seems to ultimately manifest itself into what we’ve so affectionately labeled, “The Grandparent Hangover.” We laugh, because, no matter how long Ryan stays with either set of grandparents, he needs at least a day or two to detox, and get back to normal.

Each of our parents has their own version of intoxicating our little one, which by the way, is what grandparents should do—overindulge, overstimulate and overspoil—something I believe is number one on any parent’s own list of “no, no’s,” but a heck-of-a lot of fun for the grandchild.

My in-laws’ home serves as the social gathering place. There are always tons of people around and Ryan is continuously entertained, with never a chance of getting bored…or hungry. His favorite foods (and special treats) are just steps away at all times and he’s got grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and even the dog at his beck and call. It’s a toddler’s dream…heck, it’s my dream.

Then there’s my parents who don’t believe in down time and who can’t accept the fact, despite my constant reiterations, that it’s just fine to relax and chill with the little boy at home during a weekend stay at Nana and Poppy’s. His last stay, for example, was a 3-day blessing so that my husband and I could go away our “big” anniversary weekend. As I always do, I checked in multiple times each day we were gone and each time I spoke with one of my parents they were filling me in on everywhere they had been that morning, afternoon or evening. Over a 3-day period they did the kiddie amusement park, pool, zoo, painted pottery (still can’t believe they took our lunatic there), and dined out several times. My husband and I didn’t even do that much running during our respite in Boston!

So, no matter despite the varying events that take place at either of the grandparents’ house, it’s always the same extreme fun for our little boy, and consequently, the same crash from his high. When Ryan returned on Sunday afternoon from Nana and Poppy’s, we pleaded with my parents, who were coming from the zoo (shocker) to keep him awake in the car so that he would nap. They (or should I say we) won that battle, and challenged with both a sugar and grandparent high, even after some small resistance, as his mother anticipated, Ryan fell asleep quickly, and for more than 3 hours that afternoon. When he awoke Sunday evening, he was a little discombobulated, not sure if he was still on vacation or not. Once he accepted Mommy and Daddy were home, and so was he, he couldn’t get close enough to either one of us. He wanted to be held, to cuddle, to sit in between Daddy and myself to make sure we weren’t going anywhere.

Fortunately, both my husband and my work schedules allowed us both to be home that Monday after vacay to ease the transition so when our beloved babysitter returned on Tuesday, Ryan’s hangover would subside.

We’ll always be excited for our next child-free evening, but will always be one step ahead with preparations to cure the hangover we know Ryan will be sure to have!