The perfect "day off"

Addie had a doctor appointment yesterday, so Olivia and I had a free day. I was determined to find something active for her to do since we've been cooped up all week due to weather. So we ended up meeting some friends at the local Children's Museum.

It was perfect. We spent two hours chasing the kids from room to room where we knew they could play to their heart's content without causing destruction (at least unexpected destruction). Olivia's favorite area, I think, was the rice table...like a sandbox with rice. She had so much fun and was in a great mood by lunchtime.

We had lunch with a couple of friends who were former co-workers of mine. Olivia behaved very well and I had a great conversation that was long overdue. Luckily, these are the kind of friends who are easy to talk to no matter how long it has been between visits. While we caught up on each other's lives, Olivia played the trial version of Ms. Pac-Man on my friend's phone and also took a couple dozen pictures of her hand and the table with my camera.

The poor kid cashed out as soon as I put her in the car after lunch, so the next stop was Grammy's house for nap while I got my shopping done. We finished up the day by meeting my parents for dinner and then heading to Grandma's house for a couple of hours of play.

I know part of the reason that the day was so much fun for me was that such outings are rare now. But I was also struck by how effortless (relatively speaking) the whole day was. Many, many of my day trips "to town" have been an exercise in frustration for me and Olivia as we fight a constant battle of wills...me wanting to accomplish a set number of things and her wanting to get down and explore on her own as much as possible. Those two ideas are not compatible, so we always end up frustrated and exhausted.

Somehow, yesterday, we were both in sync. It was nice.