Emptying My Head

Sunday, November 28, 2004

Vacation and a Pre-teen

We cannot seem to get our daughter to understand that we have to sacrafice a winter vacation in order to accomodate her Winter Camp session. It is a short session and last year we tried to squeeze a trip in the 5 days. But she doesn't seem to get that we would like her to help us come up with a plan that would work for both of us, and each time we bring it up, she says, "Why are you trying to make me feel bad?" So, we could punish her for the selfishness, but then we would all be punished if she moped around the house, we argued about tv and computer time and generally all had a horrible time. We have examined many options, and seem to reach no conclusion, except that she goes to camp, and we stay home and clean out the garage. We could possibly take her somewhere with us, but a short trip yesterday to Trader Joe's, Goodwill and an herb store (it was filled with a potent incense smell and she dramatically plugged her nose and ran out the door) proved that would be really miserable for all involved. So, we will miss the Seinfeld performances in Las Vegas. And reflect on good times of vacations past.