Are we there yet?

Our family was going on an overnight stay at the Great Wolf Lodge. We kept it a secret to minimize the excitement for one child, and the anxiety for the other.

Although, we were able to keep it a secret, we were unsuccessful with keeping the emotions at bay.

The suspense was too much for our four year old.

“An adventure? What kind of adventure?” he would ask over and over again.

And, each and every time, our response was, “We told you, it’s a secret!

Everyday, He would try to get an answer.

One day, he crawled up on my lap and whispered in my ear,” Mom, are we going to Chuck E. Cheeses?”

“No, not Chuck E. Cheeses.”

The next day, “Mom, is it a bouncy place? “No, not a bouncy place” I replied.

“Mom, what about the movie theater”? “No, not the movie theater”.   

“Mom, I know, We are going to the park, right? “No, honey, not the park”.

Finally, the day that he was waiting for came. As we packed the car, he grabbed his dragon stuffed animal and carried it to the car.” “Why are you taking that with you? “I asked.  He responded,” Mom, dragons go on adventures.”

“Oh ?! okay,” I said.

Thank heavens the drive was only an hour ! Because, for that entire hour, we were serenaded with Fa La La La La, La La La La !!!! Really? A Christmas tune in April?  Each time we asked him to please stop singing, he would ask,” Are we there yet? “And each and everytime, when our reply was "no", he would say,”Oh, man this is taking so long.”

Yes, one hour in the car for a 4 year old AND for the parents who keep hearing “Are we there, yet” IS eternity…

When we reached our destination, the excitement he exuded was an understatement. He was so surprised to see that his grandmother, his cousin and his aunts and uncles were there, too.

He ate. He swam. He ate. He went to the arcade. He ate. He conquered the waterslides. He ate. He played…Oh, did I mention that he ate? Yes, this boy can eat!

He was disappointed as “our adventure” came to an end, but we were able to overt the tears by telling him we were going to get something to eat before we drove home. We weren’t even in the car 5 minutes, and he fell fast asleep. As we arrived at Sonics, I called his name gently to wake him up. I tapped his leg to arouse him, but to no avail. “Are you going to wake up and eat your hotdog?” I asked. Those big brown eyes opened. He ate his dinner without a word and then fell back to sleep.

It was a quiet one hour car ride home. No Fa La La La La La’s. No “are we there, yets”. No questions, no statements, no tears. Just silence.

When we arrived at home, he awoke and walked into the house. Still a little tired, he laid on the bottom step and said, “Mom, Dad….it sure is good to be home.”