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Kid and Caboodle: Musings of a "Split-Shift" Mom  It's December, which means it's time for the annual holiday migration. Like most families, my husband and I alternate which side of the family we visit for the major holidays. Fortunately for us, our families consider different holidays to be important. Christmas and Easter are a big deal for my husband's family. In contrast, my family holds the Chinese Lunar New Year to be the most important gathering of the year. To even things out, we also spend Thanksgiving with my side of the family. Lastly, my husband and I spend time with our "family of choice" each year by celebrating New Year's Eve with close friends and their kids. This year we will be modifying our holiday schedule slightly. Because I work on Sundays, we will have to be home on Christmas and New Year's Day because they will fall on that day of the week. Since we still want to spend some time with my husband's family during this holiday season, we've decided to visit them from December 19 -- the day before my husband's birthday -- through Christmas Eve. We won't be able to spend Christmas Day itself with his family, but my husband will be able to celebrate his birthday with them, which will be nice in its own way. New Year's Eve, in contrast, will be spent at our house with our friends so I can start work on time the next day. We'll see how late the kids manage to stay up, and how coherent I will be the next morning.... Traveling with our son A.J. has become easier as he has grown older, but he still has more luggage than my husband and I combined when we travel. For a weeklong trip, my husband and I each require one medium-sized bag. In contrast, our son's luggage takes up half the trunk space in our car. He no longer uses a travel crib, baby bottles, or pacifiers, which has reduced the load somewhat. But we still need to pack his favorite pillow, crib blanket, comfort toys, books, music, clothes, and toiletries -- which include diapers, diaper wipes, and a multitude of plastic bags for diaper disposal -- whenever we travel. Right now e-mail messages are flying back and forth as we make arrangements for the holidays. This year we are giving a number of joint gifts, which will save some shopping time. I've also been very busy ordering a lot of items online. Although shopping used to be one of my favorite leisure activities, I have had to change my habits since I had A.J. in 2002. My son hates shopping as much as his father does, so every time I go to the mall I have to move very quickly and decisively. Sometimes my son won't even go into a store, which is very frustrating for me. I also can't carry many purchases when I go shopping with my son because I start off my trip toting a diaper bag and often end up carrying A.J. as well when he gets tired. As a result, I have had to give up one of my favorite pastimes and resort to shopping online for the bulk of my gifts. I really miss having the time to browse through stores at my leisure. Perhaps instead of wishing for something physical this Christmas I'll just ask for some time to go shopping ... by myself. |
